Pacers Have Surprising Disadvantage Entering Postseason

The Indiana Pacers are wrapping up their regular season, but the entire focus of the organization is on next week. The postseason will be starting, and the Pacers will look to make more noise once again in the playoffs.

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Indiana made a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, and they will be trying to duplicate that success this season. However, this team could find itself at a disadvantage that it didn't have a year ago.

The offense has been good for the Pacers this season, but it's nowhere near where it was a year ago. This could cause some issues for Indiana come playoff time, as the offense helped get them to the conference finals.

"Last year's Pacers averaged more points per game than all but five teams in NBA history and more than any team in the league in the past 40 years with 123.3 points per game. It was also the second-most efficient offense in the league behind the eventual champion Boston Celtics...This year's team didn't put up video game numbers as frequently but still averaged 117.3 points per game and sits in seventh in the NBA in scoring."

Indiana will have a familiar opponent to start the playoffs in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers dispatched the Bucks in the first round last year in a tough six-game series.

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This series against Milwaukee will test the Pacers, but they feel that they are up to the challenge. Indiana has been one of the better teams in the second half of the NBA season, so they should have no shortage of confidence heading into the series.

The Pacers have a lot of talent and the tools to find success in the postseason once again. But they won't be able to rely on the offense alone, and will need their defense to step up massively this year.

All in all, Indiana seems to be in a good spot entering the playoffs, and fans are hopeful for more success.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.