The Indiana Pacers continue to sing the sweetest melody on offense during the 2023-24 season, and it's thanks in large part to the masterful job All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has done as the team's offensive conductor. On Wednesday night, the Pacers blitzed the Milwaukee Bucks yet again, walloping them to the tune of 142 points in a 142-130 victory.

The Pacers' offensive efficiency is becoming downright absurd. After shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from deep against the Bucks on their way to another stellar scoring display, the Pacers' offensive rating is now all the way up to 122.5 — which is the best in league history should it hold.

Now, one of the main reasons the Pacers score the ball so well is that the entire team is unselfish; they had 34 assists as a team during their win against the Bucks. This is par for the course for them, however. They are averaging over 30 assists as a team (30.7 to be exact), which is a good omen. After all, the last two teams to do so (the 1985 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2017 Golden State Warriors) won the championship, as pointed out by StatMuse.

When every player on the court is a threat to make good plays, that is a recipe for offensive success in the NBA. For the Pacers, they cause headaches for opposing defenses thanks to the incredible pace with which they play. This causes confusion and cross-matches, which opens up a lot of good looks for them.

Nevertheless, the 1985 Lakers and 2017 Warriors are on an entirely different level to that of the current Pacers. The Showtime Lakers had Magic Johnson at the height of his powers, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy were as solid as it's going to get for a second and third option, respectively. Meanwhile, the 2017 Warriors had Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant — three of the greatest shooters the league has ever seen.

The biggest difference, however, apart from the gulf in top-shelf talent, is that those teams played defense. The 2017 Warriors ranked second in defensive rating, while the Lakers had solid defenders in Worthy, Michael Cooper, and Byron Scott. It's gotten to the point where even Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had to get creative in his description of the team's lack of defense. That's what they must rectify if they were to become anything close to a championship contender.