Indiana Pacers
The 2024-25 Indiana Pacers can be defined by their magical run to The Finals and forcing the Thunder to 7 games.
What did we learn?
The Pesky Pacers rode their peskiness to the top.
The world got to see just how Pesky the Pacers truly are.
Their unusual style of play was the perfect foil for opponents in the playoffs.
Quick passes, constant movement, succinct cutting, spacing and so much passing.
Depth, speed and frenzy. Everyone could pass, dribble, shoot and play high-pressure defense up and down the court.
The Pacers knew exactly who they were and their goal was to wear you down.
For the opposition, it was death by a thousand papercuts, blindfolded with your pants down and a ticking timebomb in your pocket.
Led by Tyrese Haliburton, the crux of this Pesky Mission Impossible unit, the Pacers had a guiding star who controlled the game in a profound way. Although it didn’t always show up so obvious in the box scores, Hali elevated everybody on his team. He initiated the offense while taking great care of the ball, limiting the turnovers and keeping the ball moving and offense flowing.
What cannot be denied and what everyone saw was Hali perform his magic in the clutch on the game’s biggest stage.
The driving force of the Pacers’ comebacks of fury, Hali carried the final dagger to drive right into your heart.
Game 5 of the first round in Milwaukee — The series-clinching layup in OT to bury the Bucks. A layup made upon driving down the lane past Giannis, mind you. Hali also had the game-tying dunk to force OT.
Game 2 of the East Semis in Cleveland — The game-winning stepback 3 vs. the Cavs complete with the Sam Cassell big balls dance. (Not to mention this was after getting his own rebound off a missed free throw.)
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in MSG — The bounce-up-to-the-moon and fell-right-through-the-net game-tying shot with the Reggie Miller choke sign. As iconic as it gets.
Game 1 of The NBA Finals, THE FREAKIN FINALS — The game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left that left the world shocked and speechless.
Some players dream of hitting a game-winning shot. Hali did it four times in each round of the playoffs. A legendary run that will never be forgotten.
The Pacers were not made Pesky by one man, however. This was a team with magnificent depth, filled with players who match Haliburton’s style of play. We have to give them flowers where flowers are due:
Pascal Siakam. The Pacers All-Star and leading scorer, Siakam would do it from all three levels, improving his 3-point shot greatly in the yoffs. Out of the Pacers 23 games in the playoffs, Siakam led them in scoring nine times.
Aaron Nesmith. Everyone saw him in Game 1 at MSG hitting all those late 3s. But did everyone see his tenacious defense throughout the postseason?
Andrew Nembhard. Speaking of tenacious defense, Nembhard always brought stifling, tough energy to that side of the ball. And on offense, he was always ready to rise and fire.
TJ McConnell. The ultimate Pesky Pacer. Always mixing it up and so good at being a wonderful pest.
Benedict Mathurin. Off the bench, he stayed ready and poised, calm and confident, and never shied away from the moment. He sought it out like the cold-blooded assassin that he is.
Myles Turner. The last two rounds were a struggle, but Turner shot a career-best 39.6 percent from 3 and still averaged 2 blocks a night this season.
Obi Toppin. He got revenge on the Knicks, the game-sealing dunk in OT of Game 1. Toppin also led the Pacers in scoring with 20 points to stave off elimination in Game 6 of The Finals.
Ben Sheppard. Hit some very timely 3s along the way when the Pacers needed a jolt or to add fuel to their growing fire.
But Hali was their heart and soul.
And seven minutes into Game 7 of The Finals with everything on the line, the clock struck midnight for this NBA Cinderella.
Instead of a lost slipper, it was a torn Achilles. Hali was down and out.
The Pacers still fought valiantly.
They even had a 1-point lead at half. But a flurry of OKC 3s in the third quarter buried them.
That didn’t stop the Pacers from making one final push at the end with Mathurin’s 16-point 4th quarter.
And from everything else they showed us in their magical postseason run, you couldn’t help but believe maybe they could actually do it again.
It didn’t happen that way and OKC prevailed.
But the fact that we even entertained the thought it was possible means the Pacers succeeded in one mission.
Even without Hali, they were Pesky until the very freaking end.
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Additional Notes
Will history remember that the Pacers started the season 16-18? They did.
From January 1 to the end of the regular season, the Pacers went 34-14 with a top-10 offense and top-10 defense.
The only teams in the NBA to win more games over that stretch? The Cavs, Celtics and Thunder.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
We think they can win the same number of games as last year with a full season of Siakam. Over 46.5 wins.
Pacers 2024-25 record: (50-32)
YES CER!
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What’s Next?
Life without Hali. He will miss the entire 2025-26 season with a torn Achilies. Big sigh. Luckily the Pacers did trade to get their 2026 first round pick back.
The Pacers let Myles Turner leave in Free Agency to… Milwaukee. It makes sense not wanting to pay the big bucks (no pun intended) without Hali, but that’s just going to add another level of spice to this rivalry.
Who needs Myles Turner when you now have Jay Huff?
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