The Indiana Pacers are taking on the Boston Celtics in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals, and they’re pretty sizable underdogs against the team that had the NBA’s best record during the regular season.
Just about everyone is picking the Celtics to win this series, if not win the world championship, but the Pacers are no pushovers.
In fact, Bob Myers, a former executive with the Golden State Warriors who is now a member of ESPN’s NBA broadcast crew, says people should be talking about the Pacers more than they are and that this will be a more competitive series than expected.
“We should be talking about them more. … I think this is going to be a better series than people think.”
Bob Myers with praise for Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers. pic.twitter.com/qbhkacM8LW
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 21, 2024
Myers also praised Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s starting point guard, for being not just an excellent scorer but also an excellent passer and facilitator.
Haliburton, along with head coach Rick Carlisle, has made the Pacers into one of basketball’s most feared running teams, and a team that plays that style very effectively will always have a shot to win against everyone.
They led the NBA in scoring, assists, and field-goal percentage during the regular season, and they’re coming off a Game 7 in the second round in which they set a playoff record for highest field-goal percentage when they downed the New York Knicks.
One thing also working in Indiana’s favor is the fact that Kristaps Porzingis, Boston’s starting center, is out for at least the first two games of this series, and the fact that in general, Boston lacks viable depth.
If the Pacers steal one of the first two games of this series in Boston, they could have a real shot of doing the unthinkable and reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
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