Pacers Proud to Battle With ‘Championship Contending’ 76ers

Are the Philadelphia 76ers truly one of the Eastern Conference's championship contenders? Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle seems to believe so.

And seeing his young Pacers team go down the wire with the Sixers on the second night of a back-to-back gave him a sense of encouragement after the offensive battle between the Sixers and Indiana.

“I know there's a lot of points scored all that kind of stuff, but I’m just really proud of our guys,” Carlisle told reporters after Monday night’s game.

“The beginning of the fourth quarter got us a little bit, and it made it tougher, but I’m proud of this group. Our guys are learning, growing, and tonight, you know, they went head-up with a legitimate championship-contending team, and that’s meaningful.”

Entering the 2022-2023 NBA season, the Sixers were clearly one of the Eastern Conference’s playoff contenders, as they improved their roster on paper after a fifth-straight playoff run.

Considering they have yet to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals during that stretch, there is a question mark about their status as true championship contenders.

As a former title-winning head coach, Carlisle knows what a championship-winning team looks like. And from the outside looking in, he believes the Sixers can compete with the best of them.

With a tight 147-143 win over the Pacers on Monday night, the Sixers improved their regular season record to 42-22. While it didn’t help them move up the East’s ranks, they moved one game closer to the second-seeded Boston Celtics, who took on a third-straight loss on Monday night.

Philly will have an opportunity to improve their record further on Tuesday, as they will go toe-to-toe with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Placed sixth in the Western Conference, the Wolves enter the matchup with a 34-32 record, riding a three-game win streak.

It will be another challenging matchup for the Sixers, who got Indiana’s best effort on Monday night.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.