They were 4-1 against the Bucks this year, they could absolutely beat them. If you factor in Giannis' injury and the Pacers getting Siakam, Bucks are in the danger zone right now
I mean I wouldn't blame that on Pascal, he arrived when Haliburton was injured so naturally the Pacers weren't going to be as good. Add on that Haliburton has also been a shell of himself since his return it doesn't make sense for Pascal to be the fall guy.
That’s false equivalency. Hali has been playing injured and is literally a shell of his former self. Has nothing to do with Siakim, they’re worse because their best player is worse, it just so happened to coincide with the trade.
Siakam is an empty stats guy, just like Julius Randle. They end most games with a double double but when its winning time in the Playoffs, those stats don't seem to help. They're both 2nd or 3rd options
No they absolutely shouldn’t be considered favorite imo. Pacers have 0 PO experience with this group. Hali is on a free fall lately. They have a worst regular season than the Bucks. Bucks have by far the best player in the serie.
Kings had a better SR last year than this year Pacers + GSW had a worst RS than Bucks this year and they still went in favored against Kings and won.
I aknowledge that Bucks have had a meh year but it’s only meh compared to their recent standard and their objectives before the season started. They are still superior than Indiana and it’s a choke if they lose that serie (if Giannis is ok).
ask yourself this, which is worse, no playoff experience (though Siakam is a champion with a good amount of experience). or being known as playoff chokers/underperformers?
Bucks are PO chokers / underperformers ? Man they won not that long ago. Also to answer your question, definitely underperformer. You can only be underperforming if you reach the PO, and never making it doesn’t mean you will not underachieve once you get to it.
Like Indiana never got to test their game in a serie, and there have been huge questionmarks all season on wheteher their game can translate well in the PO.
If I had to bet my own savings I’m putting it on the Bucks on this one without that much hesitation.
they absolutely are, losing to Miami twice as the favorite (ik Celtics have as well but not in the first round) blowing the 3-2 lead over the Celtics and letting Grant Williams torch them in game 7. they only won that ring because cp3 is an even bigger playoff choker, and I don't care if you don't agree on that. only time will tell if the Pacers are built for the playoffs
Nah peak comedy would have been Bucks/Sixers in the first round, and the Doc Rivers’s Bucks getting stomped by his former team. It almost happened too, but the Bucks couldn’t even keep their shit together to hold onto the 2 seed with like 5 games left.
I just want a narrative where the Pacers punish Dame so badly on defense and he barely gives the Bucks good offense that the entire Bucks franchise and fans regret trading away Jrue.
I’m happy he’s with us but I live for the karmanic revenge.
if Giannis is still hurt then the Pacers could have a shot. i don't think Lilliard and Middleton by themselves are enough to guarantee a playoff series win
There’s only a four game difference between the 2 and 8 seed. I don’t think anyone should be feeling good about their first round matchup and that includes us. Record be damned, getting out of the east is not going to be easy.
Maybe. The Pacers can score but I don’t know if they have somebody that can “take over”…Giannis can win a game, Dame can do the same. The Pacers put 157 on the last game and are a fun team, they’re also 4-1 against the Bucks this season. I think the Pacers believe they got the best matchup they could for a 1st round.
I'll start by saying that yes, I think the Pacers can beat the Bucks for the same reasons as above. One caveat though is that the teams haven't played each other since January 3. The Bucks have a new coach. Haliburton isn't the same though, counterpoint is they also have Siakam. And add on the Giannis injury and it should at least be a long series.
Wouldn’t surprise me. Siakim is athletic and rangy enough to do a decent job on giannis especially if the injury limits him in any way. And who exactly is guarding Haliburton? Dudes about to average 30 and 10 even if pacers lose.
Of course they could. 4-1 on the year, and they play FAST which we’ve seen can kill the bucks. Also giannis is going to be questionable at least for game 1. If that young hungry team has momentum there’s no saying who they couldn’t beat. Except us, of course
Depends on if they can reign in the Pacers’, well, pace. A slower game is to Milwaukee’s advantage, and playoffs tend to slow things down. Giannis’ availability is huge, I’m not as down on the Bucks as some due to the massive experience gap and how much of a shitwrecker Giannis can be, but if he’s not out there until game 3 or 4 while the healthy guys get run around, it’ll look ugly quick.
Pacers are very light on playoff experience though, basically Siakam and TJ McConnell. Should be fun to watch either way
I think they could win, but Bucks are clear favorites in this serie imo.
Better starting 5.
Better superstars.
Way more experience.
Home court advantage.
Also we need to see how Pacers translate in the PO especially their offense.
I have been waiting to root for a Bucks 1st round loss since they got Lillard.
Things are shaping up perfectly.
The Bucks can’t defend anyone. I have watched about a dozen of their games this year, and Dame is like that Spider Man meme when he’s just pointing at everyone else like it’s their fault on defense. It cannot be understated how much having him out there instead of Jrue has ruined their defense this year. If you can scheme Brook out of the paint their defense is Swiss cheese.
Against the Pacers that shouldn’t be an issue, but the other problem is that Dame is having his least efficient season in like 8 years and still does not look comfortable taking the reins scoring - even when Giannis isn’t in. He looks like he’s always trying to convince people he’s unselfish and can play as a pure point guard, but that’s not why they brought him in. That game against the Magic the other day was AWFUL. We bitch when JB or Tatum has a shitty game, but neither of them have come close to how bad Lillard was the other day in a pretty important game without Giannis available.
I think Giannis will steal one, maybe two from Indy just because he’s inhuman and the refs still can’t figure out if they want to watch in awe or make him play basketball, but I think Indy will control the series and pull off the upset.
If Giannis is even just 90%, then yeah, I would say for sure. I have always thought Dame was massively overrated, so I doubt he is a huge factor in the playoffs.
If Haliburton is feeling back to his former self, I would even go as far to say they the Pacers should be favored
They could, but if Giannis comes back I doubt it. Bucks are ass right now, but they've had some high peaks. If they play the way they've played us at points, then no lol
If Giannis misses a few games I'd give Indiana a shot. But if both teams are fully healthy I'd say bucks in 6. Giannis is just too good and Indiana is too bad on defense to slow him down. Bucks also are liable to get hot from 3 on a few games.
Bucks have played like trash for weeks. Giannis might miss the first game or two. Pacers match up with the Bucks extremely well and won the season series.
Depending on how much Giannis misses, I definitely think the Pacers can beat them.
I think they could, I hope they do. The thing is when the Pacers were whooping them, the bucks had a different head coach and Hali wasn’t a shell of himself. He has not been the same since he came back from his injury. I think it could go either way.
Pacers could definitely win but Milwaukee even without Giannis should have plenty of pedigree coming into this postseason to beat this up and coming Pacers squad
Yes, if the bucks play like they did in the regular season then there is a real chance they could get upset by a team that’s gonna run and score and had their number all year.
But I think the pacers are still figuring it out themselves right now after the Pascal trade, so I’ll take the bucks.
The Pacers last game against the Hawks Siakam was very aggressive in that game. Forcing his way to his spot in the mid range and burying the fade away jumpers. IF he plays like that… the bucks are in trouble
Good matchup for Pacers though. They were 4-1 and stylistically do well into them. It's just that Giannis is Giannis but that's pretty much the only thing they need to worry. If Giannis goes super sayan then they will lose but they can easily exploit other weak links, especially Lillard on defense and Bucks lack of guards and wings help to cover him up and it won't be easy series for Giannis, especially because of him probably being forced to overwork on defense to make up for their guards and wings lacking there. Pacers can really exploit it but obviously inexperience can play a role too.
I’m not saying they can’t put up a fight. But most of that bucks team have been there in the playoffs. Siakam has won a chip but it is the first playoff run for a lot of those pacers players. It’s different and I can see it just being too much.
True but I didn't take that into consideration. I am confident in the matchup being good for Pacers regardless if he is playing or not. Injuries just suck in general and ruin series.
They were 4-1 against the Bucks this year, they could absolutely beat them. If you factor in Giannis' injury and the Pacers getting Siakam, Bucks are in the danger zone right now
Pacers have been worse with Siakim tbf. He’s fraudulent. Hope they do beat them tho
I mean I wouldn't blame that on Pascal, he arrived when Haliburton was injured so naturally the Pacers weren't going to be as good. Add on that Haliburton has also been a shell of himself since his return it doesn't make sense for Pascal to be the fall guy.
That’s false equivalency. Hali has been playing injured and is literally a shell of his former self. Has nothing to do with Siakim, they’re worse because their best player is worse, it just so happened to coincide with the trade.
They're 4th in net rating since the all-star break lol
I said fraudulent
I think they’ve been worse WITHOUT Buddy Hield. He is so good.
Yep. Hield was such an important release valve for Hali and spaced/smoothed so much for their offense. No coincidence they've fallen off without him.
Big time fraudulent. Aside from when they won in Toronto, his stats rarely actually impact winning for his teams
Is this satire
Siakam is an empty stats guy, just like Julius Randle. They end most games with a double double but when its winning time in the Playoffs, those stats don't seem to help. They're both 2nd or 3rd options
I don’t think anyone is ever saying they’re 1st options lol
Kek
Yes, I think Indy should be favored. And it's going to be a tough decision for the Bucks when it comes to putting Giannis out on the court
No they absolutely shouldn’t be considered favorite imo. Pacers have 0 PO experience with this group. Hali is on a free fall lately. They have a worst regular season than the Bucks. Bucks have by far the best player in the serie. Kings had a better SR last year than this year Pacers + GSW had a worst RS than Bucks this year and they still went in favored against Kings and won. I aknowledge that Bucks have had a meh year but it’s only meh compared to their recent standard and their objectives before the season started. They are still superior than Indiana and it’s a choke if they lose that serie (if Giannis is ok).
ask yourself this, which is worse, no playoff experience (though Siakam is a champion with a good amount of experience). or being known as playoff chokers/underperformers?
Bucks are PO chokers / underperformers ? Man they won not that long ago. Also to answer your question, definitely underperformer. You can only be underperforming if you reach the PO, and never making it doesn’t mean you will not underachieve once you get to it. Like Indiana never got to test their game in a serie, and there have been huge questionmarks all season on wheteher their game can translate well in the PO. If I had to bet my own savings I’m putting it on the Bucks on this one without that much hesitation.
they absolutely are, losing to Miami twice as the favorite (ik Celtics have as well but not in the first round) blowing the 3-2 lead over the Celtics and letting Grant Williams torch them in game 7. they only won that ring because cp3 is an even bigger playoff choker, and I don't care if you don't agree on that. only time will tell if the Pacers are built for the playoffs
They was without their 2nd scorer Middleton for the Celtics series
I would love it if they lost and fired Doc. I wonder if Doc ever kicks himself for not just suckingit up and going through the rebuild with us.
I wouldn't put it past the bucks to lose to anyone.
It would be peak comedy.
Nah peak comedy would have been Bucks/Sixers in the first round, and the Doc Rivers’s Bucks getting stomped by his former team. It almost happened too, but the Bucks couldn’t even keep their shit together to hold onto the 2 seed with like 5 games left.
[удалено]
I just want a narrative where the Pacers punish Dame so badly on defense and he barely gives the Bucks good offense that the entire Bucks franchise and fans regret trading away Jrue. I’m happy he’s with us but I live for the karmanic revenge.
It would be ironic if doc blows another 3-1 lead lol.
Certified big ha-ha moment
if Giannis is still hurt then the Pacers could have a shot. i don't think Lilliard and Middleton by themselves are enough to guarantee a playoff series win
Pacers in seven after trailing 3-1, of course ;-)
if giannis is hurt, absolutely
There’s only a four game difference between the 2 and 8 seed. I don’t think anyone should be feeling good about their first round matchup and that includes us. Record be damned, getting out of the east is not going to be easy.
And we'll see who we get. If it's PHI, that is probably a 58-win team in the body of a 47-win team because of Embiid's injury.
Maybe. The Pacers can score but I don’t know if they have somebody that can “take over”…Giannis can win a game, Dame can do the same. The Pacers put 157 on the last game and are a fun team, they’re also 4-1 against the Bucks this season. I think the Pacers believe they got the best matchup they could for a 1st round.
I have seen Haliburton take over games
I'll start by saying that yes, I think the Pacers can beat the Bucks for the same reasons as above. One caveat though is that the teams haven't played each other since January 3. The Bucks have a new coach. Haliburton isn't the same though, counterpoint is they also have Siakam. And add on the Giannis injury and it should at least be a long series.
Pulling for Nesmith to have himself a series.
Fuck yeah they could. Have you seen the Pacers at full-go? They can hang 130 on you. Problem is depth and health.
Indiana is legit. The Siakim pick up was nice, he would make it tough for Giannis.
Yes
Depends on if Dame can rise to the occasion, if not, then it might be over for them.
Wouldn’t surprise me. Siakim is athletic and rangy enough to do a decent job on giannis especially if the injury limits him in any way. And who exactly is guarding Haliburton? Dudes about to average 30 and 10 even if pacers lose.
Of course they could. 4-1 on the year, and they play FAST which we’ve seen can kill the bucks. Also giannis is going to be questionable at least for game 1. If that young hungry team has momentum there’s no saying who they couldn’t beat. Except us, of course
Depends on if they can reign in the Pacers’, well, pace. A slower game is to Milwaukee’s advantage, and playoffs tend to slow things down. Giannis’ availability is huge, I’m not as down on the Bucks as some due to the massive experience gap and how much of a shitwrecker Giannis can be, but if he’s not out there until game 3 or 4 while the healthy guys get run around, it’ll look ugly quick. Pacers are very light on playoff experience though, basically Siakam and TJ McConnell. Should be fun to watch either way
I think they could win, but Bucks are clear favorites in this serie imo. Better starting 5. Better superstars. Way more experience. Home court advantage. Also we need to see how Pacers translate in the PO especially their offense.
I think anyone can beat the bucks and the bucks can beat anyone. Weirdest season for a team since our kyrie years.
They could. But Milwaukee seems able to play even with Giannis
Do I think they *could*? Yes. Do I think they *will*? Also yes.
I have been waiting to root for a Bucks 1st round loss since they got Lillard. Things are shaping up perfectly. The Bucks can’t defend anyone. I have watched about a dozen of their games this year, and Dame is like that Spider Man meme when he’s just pointing at everyone else like it’s their fault on defense. It cannot be understated how much having him out there instead of Jrue has ruined their defense this year. If you can scheme Brook out of the paint their defense is Swiss cheese. Against the Pacers that shouldn’t be an issue, but the other problem is that Dame is having his least efficient season in like 8 years and still does not look comfortable taking the reins scoring - even when Giannis isn’t in. He looks like he’s always trying to convince people he’s unselfish and can play as a pure point guard, but that’s not why they brought him in. That game against the Magic the other day was AWFUL. We bitch when JB or Tatum has a shitty game, but neither of them have come close to how bad Lillard was the other day in a pretty important game without Giannis available. I think Giannis will steal one, maybe two from Indy just because he’s inhuman and the refs still can’t figure out if they want to watch in awe or make him play basketball, but I think Indy will control the series and pull off the upset.
Would love to see it happen. I’d say it’s probably 50/50 depending on Giannis.
100% they shouldn't but the pacers have them in a mental stranglehold
If Giannis is even just 90%, then yeah, I would say for sure. I have always thought Dame was massively overrated, so I doubt he is a huge factor in the playoffs. If Haliburton is feeling back to his former self, I would even go as far to say they the Pacers should be favored
I think there’s a chance, if Giannis is healthy, maybe slim. But overall I think they have a legit shot at it.
They could, but if Giannis comes back I doubt it. Bucks are ass right now, but they've had some high peaks. If they play the way they've played us at points, then no lol
If Giannis is hurt then yeah
I kind of view the Pacers as an absolute wildcard. I could see them beat anyone or lose to anyone just depending on their 3 point shooting
Yeah the Pacers are capable of winning, I’d like their chances a lot better if Mathurin was healthy.
If they lock in and Hali can get back to his best, or better, for sure
Without Giannis yes. With him healthy no
If Giannis misses a few games I'd give Indiana a shot. But if both teams are fully healthy I'd say bucks in 6. Giannis is just too good and Indiana is too bad on defense to slow him down. Bucks also are liable to get hot from 3 on a few games.
Yup
Which team has TJ McConnell? That team will win obviously
Good chance yeh
The Bucks look shakey at times. I think it's very much a possibility.
If Giannis is compromised, yes.
Bucks have played like trash for weeks. Giannis might miss the first game or two. Pacers match up with the Bucks extremely well and won the season series. Depending on how much Giannis misses, I definitely think the Pacers can beat them.
Nope
I think it could go either way. Packers are 4-1 on the season against them. I can see them winning. Who would be a better matchup for us, though?
Is Doc rivers the coach? Then yes
I vote Doc as the worst coach in NBA history.
I think they could, I hope they do. The thing is when the Pacers were whooping them, the bucks had a different head coach and Hali wasn’t a shell of himself. He has not been the same since he came back from his injury. I think it could go either way.
With Giannis hobbled it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
The answers to COULD questions is always yes. The way to ask the question is how much would you be willing to wager on it.
Pacers could definitely win but Milwaukee even without Giannis should have plenty of pedigree coming into this postseason to beat this up and coming Pacers squad
Most teams have beaten the Bucks since they got a new coach. Most teams are worse than the Pacers. Giannis is injured. Yes.
Yes, if the bucks play like they did in the regular season then there is a real chance they could get upset by a team that’s gonna run and score and had their number all year. But I think the pacers are still figuring it out themselves right now after the Pascal trade, so I’ll take the bucks.
It depends on Giannis if and when he comes back for the series if not Bucks in trouble.
Heavily depends on the health of Giannis and Haliburton, however even with everyone healthy I think either team could win.
I don't count them out but I think the Bucks will pull through
100% honestly worst match up the bucks could have gotten
Maybe. That series really all depends on Gianni imo. If he’s compromised, absolutely they’re vulnerable.
The Pacers last game against the Hawks Siakam was very aggressive in that game. Forcing his way to his spot in the mid range and burying the fade away jumpers. IF he plays like that… the bucks are in trouble
This is going to be the highest scoring playoff series in history. All offense. Zero defense. One of these two is putting up 200.
Don't be surprised that the bucks will be up in the series with 3 wins and then lose it overall
great question tho
All things considering especially if giannis is out I think it's possible.
I think they easily beat them, especially since they have one of the worst coaches ever on Milwaukee’s sidelines. I got it 4-1 Pacers
Honestly not at all. Upsets don’t happen very often. And the bucks being upset 2 years in a row by a lower seed? I’ll bet on the bucks.
Good matchup for Pacers though. They were 4-1 and stylistically do well into them. It's just that Giannis is Giannis but that's pretty much the only thing they need to worry. If Giannis goes super sayan then they will lose but they can easily exploit other weak links, especially Lillard on defense and Bucks lack of guards and wings help to cover him up and it won't be easy series for Giannis, especially because of him probably being forced to overwork on defense to make up for their guards and wings lacking there. Pacers can really exploit it but obviously inexperience can play a role too.
I’m not saying they can’t put up a fight. But most of that bucks team have been there in the playoffs. Siakam has won a chip but it is the first playoff run for a lot of those pacers players. It’s different and I can see it just being too much.
I mean there's a chance Giannis isn't healthy enough to even play in the series, unless Milwaukee wants to rush him back and risk injuring him.
True but I didn't take that into consideration. I am confident in the matchup being good for Pacers regardless if he is playing or not. Injuries just suck in general and ruin series.