Welcome to Glass Slipper! Ketel Marte deserves the NL MVP. There just happens to be a man in LA that deserves it more; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

Less than four months ago, the Pacers were laughing the No. 2 seed Knicks out of their own gym in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Indiana has since been relegated by the NBA world to a lower tier in the East, where all of the pretenders live. How quickly we move on.

I don’t quite understand why this squad got cast to the side. People usually give one of three reasonings when I inquire about their skepticism of the Pacers. Allow me to debunk all of them right now.

1. They’re not experienced enough!

Here’s a couple fun facts for you. Pascal Siakam has recorded more points, rebounds, and assists in the NBA Finals than New York’s entire roster combined. Rick Carlisle is one of 10 active head coaches that have led a franchise to a championship. If you’re going to push this narrative that a group isn’t battle-tested, at least make sure that it’s accurate. Let’s move on.

2. They don’t have a No. 1 guy!

They don’t? This is a full list of all the dudes in NBA history that have averaged 20 points per game and claimed the assist title in the same season, before turning 25 years old.

• Oscar Robertson

• Isiah Thomas

• Chris Paul

• Tyrese Haliburton

In order, that’s a top-20 player of all time, the third-best point guard ever, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Indiana’s young superstar. Keep in mind that Haliburton trudged through the majority of the campaign hurt; this kid was posting an unprecedented 24-13-4 line and found himself firmly in the MVP race on the eve of that hamstring injury in January.

If you don’t think the Pacers have a real first option, you better not tell me that Philadelphia does. Haliburton is ahead of Tyrese Maxey at the moment. Paul George jumped on a podcast last year and literally admitted that he couldn’t be the main guy on a championship-winning team. Joel Embiid is in his thirties, and has played the same amount of conference finals games as me. None of that is stopping folks from picking the Sixers to make a deep run; don’t let it scare you away from Indiana.

3. The Eastern Conference Finals appearance was a fluke!

Okay, perhaps there was a little bit of luck involved. Both the Bucks and Knicks were indeed decimated by injuries at the end. But let’s not pretend like the Pacers were in peak form throughout the playoffs, either. Siakam was still new, Haliburton’s nagging ailments clearly hampered him, and Bennedict Mathurin - who essentially played starter minutes for Indiana - was already done for the year with a bad shoulder. The Pacers were 2-1 against New York and 4-1 against Milwaukee in the regular season. If everyone involved was healthy, maybe Indiana wins those two series anyway.

Plus, the Pacers made the In-Season Tournament title game. Was that just a fluke, too? It seems more likely that this is a roster full of dudes who rise when the lights are on.

Alright. Now that we’ve successfully ripped apart the baseless anti-Indiana arguments that people spew, it’s time to answer the question ourselves. Are the Pacers true contenders? To me, it’s a resounding yes. Continuity is more important in the NBA than it is in any other professional sports league. Every single member of Carlisle’s nine-man playoff rotation is back.

Remember that Jarace Walker - the No. 8 pick in 2023 - hasn’t even been given a legitimate shot yet. In theory, he’s everything that Indiana needs; a big, do-it-all wing that can provide productive reserve minutes at both forward spots. Also, don’t laugh at me for this one. I’m almost too embarrassed to type it out. I think James Wiseman might revive his career here. I don’t want to make too many excuses for how things have unfolded thus far. He’s been terrible. But in fairness to him, Golden State’s motion offense isn’t a perfect fit for every big. He then landed in Detroit, and I don’t exactly blame the guy for struggling in that environment. With the Pacers, Wiseman’s job will be straightforward. Run fast, dunk hard, and swat shots out of the building. If James remains committed to winning, there’s no reason he can’t at least be a valuable role player.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Indiana is right back in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is an incredibly deep team, and it’s led by likable stars and an awesome head coach. There exists no ceiling for a squad with those qualities.

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