They took Miami to 7 in the ECF Finals last year (they lost Game 1 by one point in OT. Win that and they very likely take the series). All the key players returned. Same starting lineup. And this year the rest of the East is a lot worse.
Alright, all its going to take is a team to steal one of the first 2 games at home against the Pacers and they are in trouble. They defended home court very well last season, I believe they might have won every single home playoff game. But lets say Brooklyn takes a game in Indy, now Indy has to head to Brooklyn tied 1-1, which IMO would be anyone's ball game at that point. Lets face it, the Pacers got off to a fast start because the teams around them were playing just horrendous basketball. I believe now that the East has picked it up, the Pacer true identity has been revealed. They are not that much better than the rest of the league and people put them on such a high pedestal because they took the Heat to 7 games last year and they had a 20-3 start. Over last month they are 7-11. And yes win-loss is not the be-all-end-all but the process is not looking good imo. The Pacers are not playing good basketball, to many turnovers, bad PG play, etc.
So? I've said they're slumping. It happens. They still own the East. 36-12 conference record (tied for tops in the NBA with SA). This is the same team essentially as last season. 3 seed, beat Hawks in 6, Knicks in 6 (without homecourt). Only team to beat them in Indiana in the playoffs last season was the Heat once.
Last year is last year though. The Cavaliers went to the finals one year and got bounced in the 2nd round the next. They also went to the ECF one year and got bounced the next year in the 2nd round. Pacers are very vulnerable.
NBA Eastern Conference Sat 4/5 7:05PM Miami Heat -135 Indiana Pacers +160 Brooklyn Nets +2000 Chicago Bulls +2900 Toronto Raptors +3300 New York Knicks +5500 Washington Wizards +6600 Charlotte Bobcats +11000 Atlanta Hawks +35000
How is it so important? Either way, the teams that would be contending would be the Warriors, Clippers, or Rockets imo. As a Thunder fan, I don't care who we face in round 1, or 2 either.
Its not a much weaker conference. The conference started off much slower, now that the conference has caught up the Pacers look like the average team I thought they would be. The only advantage they have is home court. The Nets have reached if not have surpassed the Pacers in terms of basketball play. But hey we both have our different opinions. ive watched the Pacers for 5+ months and nothing has changed my opinion about them and I doubt the final 5 games will change my opinion on em either.
Well for OKC you don't want to let LAC get HC. LAC has only 6 losses at home, the second fewest in the league. LAC can win the tiebreaker and gain a game with a win on Wednesday against OKC. The Clippers are definitely still within reach, that's a big deal. Then of course the rest of the WC teams outside of SAS, LAC, OKC. GS is doing a good job staying out of the 7/8 hole while HOU clings to their HC so POR can't take it. I also think Memphis is a scary team because they have a .660 winning % with Gasol and they seem to be completely healthy heading down the stretch. It's not likely, but 2 back of GS if they can escape OKC/SAS and get a Clippers team, I think that benefits them greatly.
Has the conference caught up? IND is 8.5 games up on the nearest non Miami EC team and they still have a shot at HC with a game left against MIA. IND is still are favorites to reach the ECF whether or not you think they should be.
Not caught up in the standings, but in terms of level of play, and that is reflective of the Pacers not winning anywhere near as much as they did in the first quarter of the season.
Well they went 18-3 in the 1st Q of the season. Nobody thought they were seriously challenging the 72-10 Bulls though. A drop was expected from the pace of 70-12. I do agree the path to the ECF looks tougher now than it did 4 months ago for IND, but they still should be the favorites and are the favorites according to where Yisman got the odds from. You can say HC is the only reason for that, but hey they earned that by winning so many more games than every other non Miami East team. It would be an upset if IND doesn't make the ECF. It wouldn't be as surprising as if the season ended 4 months ago, but it still would be an upset in my mind and in Vegas
Well I wont be shocked if the Pacers dont make the ECF, ill be more shocked if they actually do make it.
Well yeah you have your opinion. It doesn't change the odds for IND though and that's what I've been saying, the Pacers are still favorites. For example, I think Toronto should have better odds than Chicago and BK right now to win the EC, but just because I think that doesn't change the fact that it would be more of an upset for Toronto to win.
Everyone seems to forget that they lost Game 7 by 23 points. There is a lot of disfunction in that locker room right now, my opinion is obviously bias but I wouldn't be the least surprised if they don't make it to ECF.
They still took them to 7. Indiana won Game 6 by 14. Anyway, I'll probably do an open parlay and bet Indiana and Miami to win their series (and then again in the second, assuming both advance out of the first).
