Indiana Pacers are playoff bound, will face Milwaukee Bucks in first round of postseason

The Pacers are back in the playoffs

Dec 7, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) dunks the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers have officially clinched a spot in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Sunday afternoon, the Pacers took down the Atlanta Hawks to secure their spot in the postseason field. They will be the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference field thanks to their 47-35 record.

It's the Pacers first postseason appearance since the 2020 season — when they played a series in the NBA bubble. They fell in the Play-In Tournament during the following campaign and began a rebuild less than a year later.

"So much," Pacers center Myles Turner said of what it means to be back in the playoffs. He has been with Indiana for his entire career. "It's been a long four years."

Opposite from the Pacers in the bracket is the Milwaukee Bucks, who finished the season with the third seed in the East. They were 49-33 this season yet did not close the campaign strong, but they have the star power to be terrific in a postseason series. Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the league's best players and guided the Bucks to a championship in 2021. Damian Lillard is a premier talent and led the Portland Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. Those two can be a formidable duo.

They were, at their best. But that wasn't often enough, and the Bucks made a coaching change mid-season. It's difficult to know what to expect from Milwaukee in a postseason setting. They are a new-look team who currently has their third coach in 12 months, yet their top-end potential is sky high.

"It'll be fun. It's a really good team, we've obviously had some battles this year," Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton said of going against Milwaukee. Haliburton is a Wisconsin native. "Excited to play against them," he added.

Pascal Siakam added in more. "They've won a championship. Really good team. For us, it's just like, at the end of the day, what happened in the regular season doesn't matter," Siakam, who has won a title himself, said. "This is the playoffs, it's going to be different."

Siakam is the perfect player to point out that the regular season battles between the Pacers and Bucks don't matter. Indiana and Milwaukee battled five this season, and they all came between November 9 and January 3 — just 55 days apart. That's one outing every 11 days.

All of those matchups came before Siakam was traded to the Pacers. They also came before Buddy Hield was traded away from Indiana, or before the Bucks changed coaches from Adrian Griffin to Doc Rivers. Doug McDermott and Patrick Beverley were not yet in the mix.

The teams have changed dramatically, and that doesn't even account for injuries to Haliburton (in January, and it altered his season) or Antetokounmpo (a calf strain he is presently dealing with). While the Pacers have a 4-1 record to boast against the Bucks this year, it may be completely irrelevant in this series.

"They've played great against us. They probably have great confidence against us. We'll have great focus because we're going to have to," Rivers told reporters in Milwaukee.

The contrasting nature of the teams will be a story too. The Pacers are a young, ascending group who are in the playoffs for the first time in their current era. Haliburton has never played in the postseason before. Neither have rotation players Andrew Nembhard or Ben Sheppard. The stage is bigger for the blue and gold, who hope to become playoff mainstays and aren't just happy to be here. They want more.

Across the hardwood is the Bucks, who are three years removed from a championship and have a two-time MVP on the roster. Antetokounmpo has conquered the playoffs. Lillard has done well in the postseason, too, and Khris Middlteon, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis all were a part of the Bucks recent title team. There is a ton of playoff experience on Milwaukee's roster.

"Just really excited. We all grow up big basketball fans watching the playoffs," Haliburton said of the Pacers being in the field. "It's been our goal the whole year," he added, noting that the first 82 games don't matter now. It's all about looking forward.

Siakam, who has made it out of the first round four times in his career, said that he's seen the Pacers' hunger since being traded to the franchise. He could tell right away that everyone wanted to be a part of the postseason, and that's a part of why he was brought to the team in the first place. He, too, believes the team needs to forget about the regular season and keep their eyes forward.

It all starts on Sunday, April 21. That's when the Pacers will play their first playoff game since 2020, and at some point in the week following there will be a postseason outing in Indianapolis for the first time since 2019. It's been a while for Indiana, and the city they play in.

But they are back on the big stage, and they want to prove they belong. "All we asked for was an opportunity," Turner said. "Now it's our turn to make some noise."

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