Joe Mazzulla has a lot to think about

The Pacers are pretty good

BY HENRY ABBOTT

Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers were a shot away from upsetting the East’s top seed in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. MADDIE MEYER/GETTY IMAGES

The Celtics are up 1-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. They’ve been far and away the best team in basketball all season, have Kristaps Porziņģis reportedly due back soon, and are the safe pick to win the NBA Finals. Celtics billionaire Wyc Grousbeck, with his expensive-looking hair, ended the night accepting congratulations courtside. 

But halfway through the playoffs, Rick Carlisle and the Pacers have given Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla a lot to think about. 

• The Celtics have the best defensive personnel in the league and solved the Pacers’ Blur Ball offense on a few possessions here and there. But the Pacers generated wide-open looks—kickout 3s, lobs, slips, early seals—again and again with movement and passing. 

• In the best-case scenario, the Celtics bog the Pacers down, get them to dribble more than pass, and hunt matc…