Tracking the Indiana Pacers head-to-head tiebreakers for the 2023-24 postseason
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are in a tight seeding battle in the Eastern Conference. Four games separate seeds four through eight, and the third and ninth-seeded teams are still within roughly five games of the Pacers with 13 outings to go. Every night matters at this point for the blue and gold.
Tiebreakers may become important in the race for certain seeds. With the margins so close between the team that will host an entire series in the first round vs a team that will be on the road for the first round of the Play-In Tournament, every edge helps. Owning a tiebreaker over another squad is valuable.
The Pacers have finished their season series with most teams from seed two through ten in the East. Here is who they have the tiebreaker over when it comes to playoff seeding, who they are behind, and who things are still undecided with.
This link has more on the NBA's two-team tiebreakers, for reference. Three-team tiebreaker scenarios are more complex and can be found on the same webpage.
- (-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
- (1) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
- (2) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
- (3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division
- (4) Conference won-lost percentage
- (5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
- (6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
- (7) Net Points, all games
Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks: Pacers own tiebreaker
Usually, teams within the same division face off four times in one season. Indiana and Milwaukee actually had five battles in 2023-24, however, because they met in the In-Season Tournament Semifinals. That game counts as a regular season game.
The Pacers won that night, and they went 4-1 vs the Bucks this season. Should these teams finish with the same record this season (which seems unlikely given Milwaukee's significant lead in the standings), Indiana would get the better playoff seed.
Indiana Pacers vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Tiebreaker to be determined
This tiebreaker could come down to the wire. As it stands, the Pacers are 2-1 against the Cavaliers this season, and the two teams face off one more time on April 12. Should the blue and gold win that day, they will take the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland.
In the Cavs win, they would even the season series at 2-2, triggering the next tiebreaker scenario — division record. Cleveland is currently 10-5 in Central Division games, and they would finish the campaign at 11-5 should they beat Indiana in late April.
As it stands, the Pacers are 10-4 versus their division foes with three games to play. They should effectively be considered 10-5 for purposes of this exercise because they would have to lose to the Cavaliers to even trigger this tiebreaker.
In the instance where Cleveland beats Indiana on April 12, then the tiebreaker between these two teams would come down to the Pacers fortunes in their other two division games. Should they beat the Pistons (3/20 in Detroit) and Bulls (3/27 in Chicago) before losing to Cleveland, they would own the tiebreaker over the Cavs. Any loss in one of those two games would put the Pacers behind the Cavaliers in division record.
All of Indiana's remaining Central Division games are vital for their record, but they matter doubly for this undecided tiebreaker — though it likely won't matter given how far apart the two teams are in the standings.
Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks: Pacers own tiebreaker
The Pacers and Knicks were scheduled to face each other three times this season, and Indiana went 2-1 in those games. They own this head-to-head tiebreaker.
Indiana Pacers vs Orlando Magic: Magic own tiebreaker
Like with the Knicks, the Pacers were only scheduled to battle the Magic on three occasions this year. Orlando won twice, so they own the standings tiebreaker with the blue and gold.
Indiana Pacers vs Miami Heat: Tiebreaker to be determined
Indiana and Miami play each other in a trio of games in 2023-24. Two of them have already happened, and both teams won once.
That sets up a massive game between the Heat and Pacers on April 7 in Indianapolis. It will decide the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams, and it will likely be vital for the East's Play-In standings race.
Indiana Pacers vs Philadelphia 76ers: Pacers own tiebreaker
The Pacers beat the 76ers twice this season but only lost to them once. Indiana owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Philadelphia.
Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls: Tiebreaker to be determined
As things stand, the Pacers trail the Bulls 2-1 in the head-to-head series this season. But they have one more game to play, and it comes in Chicago next Wednesday.
Should Indiana win that game, they would even up the season's four-game set at 2-2. However, Chicago can't reach the blue and gold's solid division record. So should the Pacers beat the Bulls next week, they would clinch that tiebreaker. That would do wonders in ensuring Indiana stays above ninth-place. A loss by the Pacers would give the Bulls the tiebreaker, though, and keep their window open when it comes to climbing the standings.
Indiana Pacers vs Atlanta Hawks: Pacers own tiebreaker
Indiana is 3-0 vs Atlanta this season, and they play a fourth time in the season finale on April 14. But that game won't matter for tiebreaker purposes. The Pacers have already clinched it, and they are nearly certain to finish with a better record than the Hawks.
Indiana is likely going to clinch a spot in at least the Play-In Tournament later this week, so every team below the Hawks is irrelevant to these tiebreaker discussions. Meanwhile, the Pacers can't catch the first-seeded Boston Celtics in the standings. But the listed teams are at least somewhat interesting to the blue and gold down the stretch, and these tiebreakers will be worth tracking.
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- Kendall Brown was thinking about an NBA contract all year before earning one with the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Doug McDermott practiced on Friday, he's getting close to a return from a calf injury for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers poor shooting and late game flubs lead to loss vs Cleveland Cavaliers. CLICK HERE.
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