Pacers Insider Sees No Real Threat to Their Playoff Position

The Indiana Pacers are looking to get back to business following the long All-Star break. Indiana enters the last part of the regular season sitting in fourth place within the Eastern Conference standings.

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It has been a long journey for this Pacers team and they are determined to get back to the postseason. But getting there and suceeding there are two very different things.

However, where the Pacers land in the standings can also make a difference in how their playoff run goes. Matchups are everything in the NBA playoffs and the Pacers understand this but getting a first-round series with home-court advantage would be huge.

The top-four seeds in the conference receive that so Indiana will need to work to retain their spot. But Pacers insider Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star believes that the team's below Indiana in the standings won't give them too much trouble.

"If any of those teams get on a heater, there's a chance they can knock the Pacers down a few pegs in the standings which could in turn change their path. For the moment, though, the Pacers do seem destined to be a playoff team again and have a good chance to avoid the play-in round unless the bottom falls out. And if they do they have a chance to make a run just like last time."

The East team with the biggest chance to overtake Indiana in the standings is the Milwaukee Bucks. Due to their star duo, Milwaukee could pose a challenge to the Pacers down the stretch of the NBA season.

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The Pacers eliminated the Bucks in the postseason last year and if the playoffs started today, the two would meet up again. The Bucks and Pacers matchups have become a mini-rivalry for both teams, with each wanting to take the other down.

It remains to be seen where the Pacers will end up in the East but they are a confident group about their chances this season.

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