The Indiana Pacers aren’t heavy favorites to make the NBA Finals out of the East. However, they have the roster and a capable coach to make any of the opponents they might face in the playoffs sweat a bit.
The team’s currently ranked fifth in the East, which is only a rank short of meeting the team’s goals of having a four-game home stand in the playoffs. The team’s remaining games this season feature some tough teams, so it’s in their best interests to finish strongly from this point going forward.
While the bookies had them as favorites in some of the games they played recently, Tyrese Haliburton’s injury may have an impact on the team’s momentum coming into the final month of regular-season basketball.
Hali recently missed three straight games after straining his left hip plexor. While the injury didn’t seem serious enough, it was enough for Indiana to lose twice in that time. This prompted one of the team’s better players to call for everyone on the roster to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
Pascal Siakam wants the Indiana Pacers to play better amidst consecutive losses in Tyrese Haliburton’s absence
Indiana played a terrible game against the Chicago Bulls last night. They struggled to find their shots as no one on the roster scored more than 20 points in the 103-121 loss.
Siakam called on his teammates to step their game up if they want to finish the season strongly.
Per Forbes’ Tony East:
“I think everyone [has] to step up a little bit more. We’ve got to find ways to just continue to attack and keep the ball moving,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said of Haliburton’s absence. He thought his team was seduced into some shots they normally don’t take when they played the Hawks last Thursday.
Fortunately for them, they might not have to wait long before Haliburton returns to the roster. He was well enough to be considered a game-time decision before the start of the game.
They badly needed his production against Chicago, but every Pacers fan knows that it takes more than Hali to push the team to a consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
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