The Pacers advanced to the In-Season Tournament Finals. In the end, it proved to be a crucial element that propelled them towards an exceptional season.
The NBA held its first-ever In-Season Tournament this year. It was a great success by all accounts. Undoubtedly, the Indiana Pacers experienced great success. Indiana defeated several very strong teams to go undefeated in group play. To go to Vegas, they defeated Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities.
They also ended up having a wild time in Vegas. They defeated the Bucks in a game that served as a major impetus for Adrian Griffin’s termination by Milwaukee. For this squad, the whole In-Season Tournament run was the first significant games of their professional careers.
Why the In-Season Tournament helped propel the Pacers in the playoffs
They had to go through this together even though this was a different team than the one that advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Yes, Buddy Hield, not Pascal Siakam, was a member of the squad. Siakam, though, has taken home a title. Among the Pacers, almost nobody else had even participated in the postseason.
According to Tyrese Haliburton, the In-Season Tournament Final was the most significant basketball match he had ever participated in. He was accurate. It was the first NBA game he had ever played with actual consequences. He was able to acquire a taste of the difficulty of winning in the real playoffs by playing that game.
It is impossible to overstate how significant the run was for this inexperienced squad. Before the playoffs started, they gained some postseason experience. They gained self-assurance from it that they could defeat the league’s top teams. They qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals in part because of their confidence.