Indiana Pacers clinch homecourt for In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals, official seed and opponent to be determined on Tuesday

The Indiana Pacers took down the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and that was just hours after the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics on the same day. Those results, in tandem, meant that the Pacers will host one of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal games for the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.

"It's significant. It really is. It guarantees us one of the top-two spots," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after his team won on Friday night. "We do know that we'll be hosting the first knockout game here at Gainbridge [Fieldhouse]. And that's enormous for our team, for the organization, for ownership, for our fans. So that's going to be another opportunity for us."

The Pacers went 4-0 during the Group Play round. They pulled out wins against Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Atlanta — three tough opponents who were in the playoffs last year — on top of beating Detroit to get it done. They are currently one of just two teams to sweep their group with the Los Angeles Lakers being the other. The Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings have a chance to join them on Tuesday.

Because only two Eastern Conference teams, at most, can go unbeaten during the Group Play round, that means the Pacers will be one of the top-two seeds for the Knockout Rounds. They will host a game in Indianapolis on either December 4 or December 5.

Point differential is a key tiebreaker for the In-Season Tournament, and in the Pacers case, it makes Tuesday night pretty straightforward. They currently have a +39 differential while sitting at 4-0 while Milwaukee, the only other unbeaten East team so far, also has a +39 differential. That means a Bucks win on Tuesday in Miami would give the Bucks the first seed and the Pacers the second seed in the East. A Heat win, though, would give Indiana the top overall seed.

Should the Pacers get the second seed, they would face the winner of Eastern Conference Group C in the first round. As it stands, that could be any of Orlando, Broklyn, or Boston. It won't be known which team that is until later this week.

If Indiana gets the first seed, they would play whichever East team earns the wild card spot. That will be the best finishing squad that does not win its group, and it could be any number of teams. Currently, 10 franchises are in the mix to be the wild card representative in the East. Cleveland, Brooklyn, Miami, New York, Boston, and Orlando have the inside track since they have all lost just one time so far during Group Play. It would take several results going a certain way for a two-loss unit to be the wild card finisher.

The Pacers won the NBA's first-ever In-Season Tournament game when they hosted the Cavaliers earlier this month. They've been great in the competition ever since, winning many close games. They'll get to play one more home game in the event — if they win, they'll go on to the Semifinals in Las Vegas on December 7.

"I think it just shows how we really step up in the moment," Pacers veteran center Myles Turner said of his team sweeping the Group Play round of the In-Season Tournament. He noted that the games feel like playoff games, which is important to the growing Pacers.

"All eyes forward now," Turner added.

The Pacers won't know who they host in the Quarterfinals until Tuesday night. What they do know is that they will be rooting for the Miami Heat so that they can be the first overall seed in the Eastern Conference for the Knockout Rounds.

Indiana Pacers first-round picks Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard assigned to G League for playing time. CLICK HERE.
Indiana Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton set multiple franchise records in a win over Atlanta Hawks, including points in a game. CLICK HERE.
More confident and mature Myles Turner giving Indiana Pacers great minutes to begin the season. CLICK HERE.
Indiana Pacers beat Detroit Pistons to finish 2023 In-Season Tournament group play unbeaten. CLICK HERE.
Follow AllPacers on Facebook: All Pacers SI
Follow AllPacers on Twitter: @SIPacers