Eight things to know about the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee's first-round playoff foe

[ASFN Admin]

The Milwaukee Bucks landed the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, beginning April 19 or 20. It's a rematch from last year, when the sixth-seeded Pacers got the best of the third-seeded and injury-depleted Bucks in the first round, four games to two.

Here's what to know about the Bucks' first-round foe:

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The Indiana Pacers' likely starting lineup and reserves​

Likely starters

• Pascal Siakam, 20.2 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists
• Tyrese Haliburton, 18.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 9.2 apg
• Myles Turner, 15.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.5 apg
• Aaron Nesmith, 12.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.2 apg
• Andrew Nembhard, 10.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.0 apg

Off the bench

• Benedict Mathurin, 12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 apg
• Obi Toppin, 10.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg
• T.J. McConnell, 9.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.5 apg
• Jerace Walker, 6.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.4 apg
• Ben Sheppard, 5.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
• Thomas Bryant, 6.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg

Coach: Rick Carlisle (23rd year as head coach, 71-79 playoff record, 1 NBA title)

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Regular-season clashes between the Bucks and Pacers​

• Nov. 22: Milwaukee 129, Indiana 117: Just like last year, the Bucks and Pacers met in the in-season tournament, but this time the Bucks exacted a measure of revenge after falling in the 2023 semifinals. This meeting came in pool play at Fiserv Forum, and Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded a triple double (37 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists). After a rough start to the year, the win marked Milwaukee's fifth victory in six games. Tyrese Haliburton finished with just 6 points.
• Dec. 31: Milwaukee 120, Indiana 112: Played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Bucks outscored the Pacers by 11 in the fourth quarter and rallied to win after trailing at half by 11 points and by 19 in the second half. Antetokounmpo, playing for the first time in 10 days, had 30 points and 12 rebounds, plus five assists, while Lillard was held to just 9 points. Gary Trent Jr. hit two big late three-pointers.
• March 11: Indiana 115, Milwaukee 114: Tyrese Haliburton hit a wild 3-pointer just before the buzzer and drew a foul on Antetokounmpo, then made the free throw to give Indiana the thrilling win (never mind that he stepped out of bounds first). The Bucks trailed by 10 with 8 minutes to go but rallied to take a lead. Antetokounmpo had 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Brook Lopez added 23 and seven.
• March 15: Milwaukee 126, Indiana 119: Just four days after a frustrating loss, the Bucks took an 18-point lead after three quarters and prevailed back at Fiserv Forum, despite 30 points from Aaron Nesmith. Both Antetokounmpo (34 points, 10 rebounds) and Lillard (25 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) put up big numbers. Taurean Prince hit a clutch shot and delivered a clutch block after Giannis fouled out with less than 3 minutes left.

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These two teams have ... history​

The Bucks played last year's playoff series without injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and also didn't have a limited Damian Lillard in two games, though he scored more than 30 points per game when he was available. Khris Middleton, who scored 24 points per game in that series, is gone, as are starters Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley. It's probably just as well for Beverley, who threw a basketball at fans as the Pacers won the series clincher, leading to a lawsuit filed in February.

But even before that, these two teams weren't the best of friends, most notably clashing over a game ball (in which the Bucks may have overreacted) back in late 2023. Wisconsinite Tyrese Haliburton also notably mimicked the "Dame Time" celebration after helping the Pacers beat the Bucks in the NBA cup in late 2023.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo absolutely dominates against this team​

Missing Giannis in 2024 with a calf injury would impact any Bucks postseason series. But considering how he normally fares against the Pacers, it was devastating.

This year, Giannis has scored 30 or more points in three of the four games against Indiana, with double-doubles in all four. Last year, he recorded a career-best 64-point and 54-point game against Indiana, plus a 37-, 30- and 26-point performance, again with at least a double-double in all five.

In 2022-23, he scored 41 points and 12 rebounds and 38 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists in two games against the Pacers. In the third, he finished with 25 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes He had a 50-point game against Indiana and double doubles in all three meetings in 2021-22.

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The Pacers ran it back from last year​

This team isn't going to merely look familiar because of the same jersey as last year's playoff foe. This is almost exactly the same team, with the same five starters and top reserves, only this time Benedict Mathurin is actually healthy and available.

One top reserve last year, Isaiah Jackson, suffered a torn Achilles and was lost for the year, and another reserve, Jalen Smith, signed with the Bulls, but this is otherwise the same team that went to the Eastern Conference finals last year after upsetting the Bucks in the first round. Leading scorer Pascal Siakam, who joined the Pacers midway through last season after a trade from Toronto, spent a full year with the Pacers this time around, made an all-star team and now gets yet another chance to haunt the Bucks in the postseason. That's becoming his specialty.

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Haliburton's numbers declined, but Siakam was here all year, after all​

After back-to-back all-star appearances, Oshkosh native Tyrese Haliburton wasn't selected this time around and despite an uptick in minutes, his numbers dropped in scoring (20.1 points last year to 18.6 this year), assists (10.9 last year and 9.2 this year) and rebounds (3.9 to 3.5). But his 3-point percentage has gone up (from 36% to 39%), and it stands to reason that some production will fall with Pascal Siakam around for a full season this time around.

Haliburton did struggle out of the gate as he entered the first year of his five-year contract worth $245 million, falling into an extensive shooting slump and hitting just single digits in scoring for a quarter of his team's first 16 games.

Siakam helped Indiana overcome the slump. He's enjoyed a career year in 3-point percentage (39%), and he's averaging more than 20 points per game for a sixth consecutive year.

The midseason trade acquisition last year was Indiana's leading scorer after the deal, then scored 22.3 points per game in the six-game series last year against the Bucks, after averaging 14 and 6 as Toronto's third best player in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals to beat the Bucks, four games to two.

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This isn't quite the high-flying scoring team it was last year​

Indiana averaged 123.3 points per game last year, first in the league, and they were first in assists, first in field-goal percentage and first in defensive 3-point percentage.

This year, they're down to 117.3 points per game, still strong at seventh in the league, and they're still third in assists, third in field goal percentage and 10th in defensive 3-point percentage, but it's perhaps not quite the juggernaut it was last year. They've slowed in pace, coming into last year's postseason as the fastest-paced team in the league and pulling back this year to a middle-of-the-pack team.

But it's worked. The team has recorded its highest win total since 2013-14 and made the playoffs back-to-back seasons after three years off.

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T.J. McConnell is still here, and that's going to annoy some Bucks fans​

Does it always feel like T.J. McConnell is up to something when he's facing the Bucks? You wouldn't be the only one who feels that way. McConnell's scoring average (9.5 points) and assists total (6.1) against Milwaukee are his best numbers against any team, with 33 games under his belt. He also shoots 54% from 3-point range against Milwaukee and 55% from the field overall.

McConnell scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the clinching win over Milwaukee in last year's playoffs, and he did it in 23 minutes.

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The Pacers haven't had the same problems against the top East teams that Milwaukee has had​

The Bucks are famously winless against the top three teams in the East playoffs (the Cavaliers, Celtics and Knicks), which is why a first-round draw against Indiana is far friendlier than what they'd get with a lower seed. But the Pacers haven't had the same problem Milwaukee has.

Indiana won two of its four games against the Celtics this year, including an overtime win in October. Heading into the Sunday finale, they've faced the Cavaliers three times and won twice, including a 108-93 victory Jan. 12 that counts as Cleveland's second-worst loss of the season. They've won one of three games against the Knicks, as well. That's a record of 5-5 against the big guns.

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Aaron Nesmith's health has boosted the Pacers​

When starting small forward Aaron Nesmith was out earlier in the year with an ankle sprain for 35 games, it correlated to Indiana's struggles, though the Pacers had won six of seven when he returned Jan. 16. Before that, the Pacers were a below-.500 team. Getting Nesmith back gave the Pacers their top defensive option against top wings.

There's also some offense; since the start of March, he's chipping in with 15.5 points per game, plus 4.3 rebounds while shooting 46.3% from 3-point range.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Eight things to know about the Indiana Pacers, Bucks playoff opponent

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