It's been a great season. It may end tonight, it may not. Either way, I'm at peace with what the Pacers have accomplished this year.

Even in a series where the Pacers are down 0-3 – a series that has me writing this defeatist post before Game 4 – the Pacers have played stretches of basketball that we as fans can be proud of. I mean, if you go by certain predictive stats, it's a statistical anomaly that we're not up 2-1.

Regardless, the eye test tells you that while the Pacers should have won Game 1, the Celtics have been the better team when it mattered. When they've needed to make plays the Celtics have. Conversely, the Pacers have folded in the same situations.

That's the difference between contenders and pretenders. The killer instinct to put away inferior opponents is what defines great teams. The Pacers have shown they possess a million and one virtues this year... but (Game 7 in MSG aside) they sorely lack killer instinct. Every game against a sub-.500 team was a rollercoaster.

If there's one area of growth we all want to see from them next year, it should be consistent focus and execution. Especially with how well they've played at home during the playoffs, finishing in the top 2 in the East should be a goal for '24-'25.

I can't say for sure when the Pacers will be back in the ECF. The NBA postseason is a war of attrition. The Pacers benefitted from facing Bucks and Knicks teams suffering major injuries. Likewise, the Celtics benefitted from facing hobbled Heat and Cavs teams on their run to the conference finals and are now enjoying a Haliburton-less Pacers team. To be fair, they've been playing without Kristaps Porzingis as well.

Staying healthy is simply the name of the game these days. While I just said that I want the Pacers to try to finish at the top of the East next year, I also hope that they manage injuries a bit better. You can't knock anyone for wanting an extra $40+ million dollars, but it sure felt like the team took a risk in bringing Tyrese back when it did. I won't say that if they'd rested him more he wouldn't have re-injured his left hamstring this series... but you can't help but wonder.

Whatever happens tonight, I hope and expect the team to go down swinging.

Injuries

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 8:00 PM ET.

TV: ESPN

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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