Analyst Believes Pacers Were ‘Too Much’ For Cavs To Handle

For the second season in a row, the Indiana Pacers are headed to the Eastern Conference Finals.

They aren’t sure who their opponents will be, but they know they will put up quite a fight.

Writing for The Athletic, Joe Vardon said the Pacers were just too much for the Cavaliers and also said other teams might have just as many problems with them.

“Can any of the remaining teams keep up with Indiana? I’m not sure. I know the Cavs could not deal with the relentless defensive pressure AND all the sprinting the Pacers did on offense over the course of four quarters. Yes, Cleveland had injuries, but the tempo was too much,” Vardon wrote.

The tempo and energy of this series were in Indiana’s favor from the very beginning.

This wasn’t a huge surprise because all analysts predicted the Pacers would try to move at a certain speed, one the Cavaliers weren’t used to.

This is Indiana’s biggest weapon: they are able to throw other teams off their solid footing because they don’t adjust to the tempo of opponents.

Instead, they call the shots and dictate how things move.

This is why they were able to win all of the home games against the Cavaliers, despite home-court advantage.

Can the Pacers do this again against the New York Knicks or Boston Celtics?

NBA teams always have a better chance when they are able to play to their strengths, and that is exactly what the Pacers did.

Now they have to do it again, at least once.

The Pacers have some days off while the Knicks and Celtics determine who will move on.

During that time, they will formulate a game plan to take them down in the Eastern Conference Finals.