Whose season will the Pacers spoil?

Indiana serves notice to the East

BY DAVID THORPE

Behind better defense and improved play from supporting cast like Bennedict Mathurin (above), the Pacers are turning heads in the East. JASON MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

The Pacers play gorgeous basketball. If you don’t like watching a team press, run, and attack the paint, you’re not going to like any basketball.

In a recent back-to-back against the East-leading Cavaliers (another fun brand of ball), the Pacers proved they’re still the team no contender wants to face in a playoff series. Sure, they play fast, but now they’re also growing, learning from mistakes, and playing defense. Will they have enough to win three straight playoff series? That’s doubtful. Yet, as the Cavs learned this past week, the Pacers are formidable.

The two-game split between Indiana and Cleveland leaves us wondering how the East will shake out. The 34-5 Cavaliers have built a six-game cushion over the favored Celtics, who have been sputtering a bit, seem content to be the eventual two-seed. It’s hard to imagine the Knicks will have much gas left in the tank come spring. The Bucks are playing excellent basketball as of late, but they’ve put a lot of eggs in the hopeful-health basket. The Magic’s defense can give any team problems, but even with a healthy Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, they’re not putting enough pressure on top defenses. But the Pacers and their blur-ball offense run every defense ragged, especially in a series with a condensed schedule.

While I’m not ready to reserve a seat for the Pacers on the TrueHoop Championship Bus, I do see them as the proverbial pebble in a contender’s shoe. And if the Pacers can continue to improve, especially on defense, they could both disrupt the East’s power balance and end up spoiling a contender’s season this spring.