Tonight's Championship game is a paradox. For the first time since the regular season started, the Pacers are playing a game that doesn't count... and yet it's the most meaningful game the team has played in years. By making it to the final game of the In-Season Tournament, the Pacers and Lakers will play 83 regular season games. As such, tonight's outcome will neither affect the standings, nor the players' individual statistics.

What's on the line? Glory – and $300K in bonuses – but mainly glory!

I've written a few times that this season is about metamorphosis. The IST has been like a microscope on the Pacers, putting their evolution from a collection of young assets to competitive force on display for the entire world to see. That metamorphosis is lead by Tyrese Haliburton, who is quickly shaping the Pacers in his image.

Tyrese has spoken candidly about being tired of losing – about putting winning over everything else. In tournament play, the Pacers have done exactly that. They are 6-0 with wins over the top-4 teams in the East from a season ago. They've beaten Embiid, Giannis, Tatum, Mitchell, and Young. They've won games where they gave up over 150 points and games where they gave up less than 115. They have simply been up for each and every challenge the tournament has thrown at them, always finding a way to win.

Tonight, they will face the franchise's final boss for the past decade. This will be the 6th time the Pacers have faced a LeBron-led team in an elimination game since the 2011-12 season. The previous five matchups ended in defeat. That's not to say we haven't put up a fight. Both the Paul George and the Victor Oladipo iterations of Blue Collar Gold Swagger pushed James to seven games. But if Tyrese Haliburton truly wants to be thought of as a winner – not just a second-tier star, a Robin – there's no louder statement than beating the King.

Injuries

It appears the Andrew Nembhard injury looked much worse than it was. After practice yesterday, Rick Carlisle said that the team was waiting on the results of a few tests but that he hoped the injury was nothing more than a mild hyperextension. Officially, Nembhard is out with a right knee bone bruise. It's unclear how long he'll be sidelined, but he seems to have dodged the bullet of a major tear.

Jalen Smith is still out with a knee bone bruise of his own.

How to Watch

Network TV baby!

Tipoff is at 8:30 PM ET.

TV: ABC

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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