It has been a very strange season for the Indiana Pacers – Paul George hasn’t been in the lineup all season long, almost everyone from the roster has missed significant time due to injuries, but they are still in the playoff race. Not only that, but lately they have looked like a dark horse title contender. The prediction of the Pacers even winning a playoff series is a very bold one, but once Paul George returns things will be very different.
It is expected that George will make his season debut during the next couple of weeks and if he can fit in with the current playing system in Indiana, the team will be positioned to make a deep playoff run. The Pacers are a very tough team, composed of battle-hardened veterans that know what to do in the postseason. They are a team with pride and have the desire to make the most of what had looked like a lost season when Paul George got injured. Their main problem will be if they finish at the eighth spot in the East because then they will have to face the surging Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Nevertheless, if they can get to the seventh spot, based on the current standings, the Pacers will meet the Cavaliers. Even though there are a lot of “ifs” – if Paul George comes back strong, if Roy Hibbert goes back to his All-Star form, if the role players play good – the Pacers will have a legitimate chance of upsetting LeBron James and the Cavs.
The Indiana Pacers has the pieces that a championship caliber team is composed of, but injuries have been the main problem this season. If Paul George can return before the playoffs started, they may be able to surprise everyone and reach the NBA Finals. The Pacers are defensive-minded team that has been built to playoff games, and I expect that a lot of squads from the upper half of the Eastern Conference will fear meeting Indiana in the postseason.
NBA News: Can the Indiana Pacers upset everyone and reach the NBA Finals?
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