The Indiana Pacers are heading into the postseason with homecourt advantage. However, this may not be enough to take on their fiercest rival: the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks have proven to be a major thorn in the side of Indiana this season, dominantly winning three of their four matchups. That being said, this only seems to be fuel for the fire for the Pacers and point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
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“Obviously the regular season holds weight for sure,” Haliburton said, per Clark Wade of IndyStar. “But it doesn’t change how we’ll approach it. It’s still a playoff series. It doesn’t matter who we play and understanding that we’re always going to get their best shot, they’re always going to get our best shot.”
“It’s plain and simple: we don’t like each other, so that’s just part of it.”
“We feel good. We feel good. We’re really excited about being able to start the playoffs at home. We’ve had a great year at home. We’ve had a great year in our city jersey. So we’re definitely excited to start the series here and we feel good. So, yeah, everybody here is excited.”
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While the Pacers didn’t have much success over the Bucks in the regular season, they have proven time and again that they can battle it out with the best of them.
Most recently, this was seen when Indiana shockingly beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 38 points in the fourth quarter to eventually win 126-118 in double overtime. While Haliburton wasn’t in this game, it goes to show the team’s incredible resilience.
Haliburton has had another excellent season as a Pacer, averaging 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 total rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game across 73 games. This further established himself as one of the top point guards in the league today.
Haliburton will have to continue playing at that level if Indiana wants to beat the Bucks. However, knowing the Pacers’ ability to surprise opponents, there is a distince possibility they can come out on top.
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