Why are Pacers so strong this year? There are 4 main reasons!

If you want to talk about the most surprising team this year's playoffs, the Pacers are the ones. So far in the playoffs, they not only easily eliminated the Bucks with Antetokounmpo with a score of 4-1, but also defeated the Cavaliers, the number one in the Eastern Conference, and ushered in a good start. Whether offense or defense, the Pacers play very competitively. So why are the Pacers so strong this year? There are 4 main reasons!

1. Core players are extremely compatible

As the team's core, Halliburton performed very well. So far in the playoffs, Halliburton averaged 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. Halliburton is currently the league's assist king and the team's backcourt brain. He made sharp breakthroughs, accurate shooting, dared to take action, and was able to act as a tough player at critical moments, hitting key balls, and taking away victory for the team to stabilize the morale of the army.

As the second in command, Siakam averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game, shooting percentage of 52.9% and three-point shooting percentage of 43.5%. Siakam's excellent offensive and shooting ability is exactly extremely compatible with Halliburton. He can not only relieve the team's offensive pressure, but also bring reliable defense to the team. He is an excellent second-in-command. The swing lineup of the two forward guards formed by Nembhard and Nesmith is very practical. They play with variety and accurately projected, and are very outstanding role players. And there are also top-quality space-type inside players like Turner. Turner plays tough and has good long shots and blocking skills. While opening up the offensive space for the team, he is also an important barrier to the inside!

2. In addition to the balanced starting lineup, the Pacers' substitute lineup is very strong. Mathering and McConnell on the back line, the two averaged 19.9 points per game. There are also enough resources on the substitute front line, including players such as Toppin, Walker, and Thomas Bryant. The entire team's shooting percentage is as high as 50.4%, ranking second in the league; the three-point shooting percentage is 41.6%, ranking first in the league. The Pacers averaged 118.3 points per game this year, ranking third in the league.

3. The coach has excellent coaching ability

Since joining the Pacers, Carlisle's changes to the team have been very obvious, leading the team into the playoffs for two consecutive years. Carlisle has formulated many tactical systems suitable for the team and players. On the offensive end, he emphasized the need to pass the ball and share the ball, pass more balls to players with better scoring opportunities, and played classic team basketball. On the defensive end, he emphasized defensive discipline and built a defensive system through assisted defense and rebound protection. During the game, Carlisle's tactical adjustments were targeted and he had strong on-the-spot adaptability.

4. The team atmosphere is good and the running-in is good. This season, the Pacers' running-in is very successful and showed good chemistry. The players also trust each other, have strong cohesion, have a clear division of labor, and have shown excellent tenacity.

For the Pacers this season, they not only became a big dark horse, but also had the possibility of defeating the Cavaliers and rushing to the Eastern Conference Finals!