Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan discusses Pacers playoff run and future in radio interview

Buchanan discussed where his team is now and where they are headed

Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan speaks with the media. (Mandatory Photo Credit: PacersSI) /

Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan joined The Ride with JMV on 107.5 The Fan last week to discuss his team, their building timeline, and their run to the Eastern Conference Finals this season.

Buchanan did the call from Boston one day after his team beat the New York Knicks in Game 7 of the second round. The Pacers were riding a high after the big win that moved them to the last round of the East's playoff bracket.

Among many topics, Buchanan talked about Indiana's hot shooting in Game 7 against the Knicks, their balanced attack, how he knows when Tyrese Haliburton is headed for a big game, and more.

The general manager also discussed his team being ahead of schedule in their roster build and what comes next. Despite the Pacers thinking long term with recent transactions and roster decisions, they are in the Eastern Conference Finals with a very young team.

"You try to map things out of where you'd like to get to as a goal as a team. But it's hard to project how things are going to play out, how the chemistry of your team is going to come together, how the health of your team [will pan out]. A little bit of luck comes into play, obviously, for all teams as you get into the NBA season," Buchanan began. "I think our coaches created one of the best NBA offenses we've ever seen, and I don't know if we could have projected that happening this quickly with this group. We were hopeful to be a playoff team this year, and then once you get to the playoffs anything can really happen. I think we saw over the last couple weeks that you get some good fortune and you take advantage of it and you play well, anything can happen.

"To say we're ahead of schedule, I don't think we went into this year expecting to be where we're at. But I think as the season went on and we made the trade for Pascal and we saw this team playing well down the stretch, it felt good," the GM continued. "It felt like 'hey, let's see where this team can go'. I don't think our guys felt intimidated or scared with any matchup. We'd had success throughout the regular season against some of the better teams. So I don't think we were going into a playoff matchup fearing that we weren't going to be competitive with whichever team we face."

Indiana's front office executive continued to talk about his team, including how Haliburton and T.J. McConnell can play the same way and what that means for the squad. The two high-paced guards are great at creating open shots.

He also discussed his team's peak involving hitting the glass hard, the signature moments of the 2023-24 Pacers season, and how Indiana's current run can be helpful when it comes to luring players in the future.

As for the Pacers being on schedule, Buchanan said that the organization knows there are no promises about where the team will get to in future seasons. That's what makes their current run so special and why they are analyzing their performance against the Celtics.

"There's no guarantee that the next step is whatever next year and beyond. There's nothing guaranteed to you in this league. There's great teams that are sitting at home right now that are wishing they're where we are at. But we're also very fortunate, and we understand how lucky we are to be where we're at still right now playing. And we've got to take advantage of this," Buchanan said. "Like I said, this opportunity in front of us isn't guaranteed next year or the year beyond. And it's time for our guys to continue looking forward. We celebrated yesterday, but it’s on to the next series now. There's no time to sit back and be content on what you've done, it's 'let's go battle this next opponent and see where the chips fall'."

Indiana and Boston play Game 4 on Monday.

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