The Indiana Pacers weren’t supposed to make the Eastern Conference Finals. This was supposed to be the second full season of a rebuild where the Pacers front office initially didn’t want to put playoff expectations on the roster before training camp.
“When we met as an organization before the season, we had a plan to make the conference finals in three years,” said Chad Buchanan today.
The players though had other ideas. They met that goal in the rebuild in just one.
“We knew our expectation was to get to the playoffs,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “We had a preseason camp in Nashville just players no coaches and that was what we communicated from the jump. We expected to be here. This ain’t a surprise from us. Once we added [Pascal] we knew we could really take off.”
Not only did the players reach their initial make the playoffs goal but they won multiple series against teams that—yes had some injury issues but—were more battle tested as veteran groups than the upstart Pacers featuring numerous players getting their first real shot at playoff minutes.
“I’m just proud of this group. It’s the most special group I’ve been around,” Myles Turner said. “We all play for each other. There’s no ego.”
The experience they gained will be invaluable for them in the future and provide confidence when they face the challenges that will inevitably come. Just look at some of the lessons they can take away:
- Losing their first playoff game against the Bucks badly. Understanding that it’s a long series and it’s first to four.
- Overcoming incredible shotmaking from Khris Middleton in Game 3 to find a way to win with Haliburton’s game winner.
- Learning how hard a closeout game on the road can be no matter who a team may be missing in Game 5 against the Bucks.
- How important home court advantage can be for their future with the incredible atmosphere the fans in Gainbridge Fieldhouse brought for every game where they didn’t lose against the Knicks or Bucks and how they’ll need to apply that to all those games they played down to their opponent in the regular season during the year
- How to overcome 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in the conference semi-finals, how to adapt and bounce back after getting your ass kicked in Game 5 against the Knicks
- Everything about playing in a Game 7 and how loose and free they were able to play despite being on the road in a hostile Madison Square Garden and managing to set offensive playoff records
- How much harder things get the farther you go into the playoffs and how small your margin of error is as learned by three heartbreaking losses to the Celtics.
- Finding ways to compete in games without your star player.
“This is the best season of my life, no question,” Tyrese Haliburton said in his exit interview today. “Up until this point though, I plan to have a lot more success in this uniform and for this organization to have a lot more success.”
The In-Season Tournament run in the beginning of the season provided necessary experience in high-stakes games for the young group and helped them prepare for this moment but also was a huge superstar leap from Haliburton skipped across the court often early in the season as he looked like a potential MVP candidate through the early months of the season before his hamstring injury. This whole season has been incredibly fun for a team that hadn’t been out of the first round since 2014 and hadn’t won a playoff game at all since the Victor Oladipo series against LeBron James and the Cavaliers in 2018 and will be a season to remember for a long time.
But while the Pacers are proud of their season, they want this to be the standard and not an aberration. Haliburton is clear that the team can’t lose the chips on their shoulders after one great season and wants to make this the standard for the group. He expects the team to continue to be doubted and is excited to keep proving people wrong.
Both Rick Carlisle and Pascal Siakam, the most experienced parts of the team are quick to point out that just because they made it to the conference finals doesn’t mean that anything is guaranteed in future seasons. The Pacers will have to earn it and continue to improve and get better if they want to get back here and advance beyond this point.
The Pacers top priority will be re-signing Siakam. Shams Charania reports that the Pacers are prepared to offer him a max contract this summer. Tyrese Haliburton said he’ll be calling and texting him non-stop to make sure he sticks around but all indications seem to be that both sides desire this to be a long-term relationship.
Andrew Nembhard emerged as a star in his own right as a lead guard against the best two guard defenders in the league as Haliburton missed the final two games. Aaron Nesmith proved to be a valuable defensive piece that can contribute in the playoffs and continues to evolve his offensive game. T.J. McConnell showed that his tenacity and energy translates to the highest level and he can still outwork everyone on the floor. Myles Turner despite a disappointing ending to his postseason while trying to play through back spasms was a fantastic third option in the playoffs forcing teams to adjust to how they were defending him in every round, looking like an ideal tertiary option at times next to Haliburton and Siakam. Rookie Ben Sheppard provided valuable defense off the bench and shooting in the first two rounds. Obi Toppin perhaps one of the only rotation players that may not return was an offensive weapon off the bench. And the Pacers still have lottery picks from the last two seasons eager to prove themselves in this type of setting in Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker.
Myles Turner was open about this being the first time he’s been out of the first round in anything going back to high school, lost in the first round to Butler while with Texas in his lone season in college, and five first-round defeats to start his NBA career before the playoff drought that came before this season. Now he’s ready to keep building on it.
Nothing is guaranteed. But the future is bright and internal growth is a possibility from many players on the roster as they look to improve on a fun, surprising season going into the next one likely with a target on their back and at minimum more expectations than most of them have had before.
iPacers 