The Indiana Pacers are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this year, but are they truly good enough to make a deep playoff run? Pacers legend and NBA on TNT analyst Reggie Miller thinks so.
Can the Pacers win the East? Chuck and @ReggieMillerTNT disagree.
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It is hardly an absurd proposition.
The Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics are clearly the class of the Eastern Conference. Sorry, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks fans, but it's the truth.
So, where do the Pacers fall in all of this? Well, a legitimate argument can be made that Indiana is actually the third-best team in the conference.
There isn't much that the Pacers don't have. They have a star player in Victor Oladipo, a lot of length, a lot of athleticism, good defenders, good shooters and good depth.
If there is one criticism about Indiana, it is that it doesn't have the top-end talent behind its best player that Toronto, Boston or Philadelphia have. However, they make up for that in depth (which Philly absolutely does not have) and cohesion.
Of course, the Pacers would likely have to get by one of the Raptors or the Celtics to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, and if those two teams are healthy, it's hard to imagine Indy beating either squad four times out of seven games.
Injuries do happen though (just look at Boston right now), so Indiana making a surprising run in the playoffs would not be all that shocking.
Remember: the Pacers pushed LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games last year, and some would argue that Indiana actually should have won that series.
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