Indiana Pacers on top of In-Season Tournament Group after two games, can clinch on Tuesday

The Pacers have done well in the In-Season Tournament so far

The Indiana Pacers can become one of the first teams to clinch the first overall seed in their NBA In-Season Tournament group on Tuesday night when they play the Hawks in Atlanta.

It's the Pacers third Group Play game. So far, they have taken down the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers during In-Season Tournament action, putting their record at 2-0. Those two teams as well as the Hawks and Detroit Pistons make up the Pacers group.

"This is a good opportunity. It's a great atmosphere every time we've played in a game. Doesn't get much better than that," Pacers guard Bruce Brown said of the In-Season Tournament on Monday. 

The Pacers group is called Eastern Conference Group A. Indiana is in first place at 2-0. Philly is right behind them at 2-1 with wins over Atlanta and Detroit and a loss to Indiana. They will be rooting for the Hawks on Tuesday.

Cleveland is 1-1 with a win over the Pistons and loss to the Pacers. Atlanta is 1-1 as well after beating Detroit and losing to Philadelphia. Detroit has already been eliminated at 0-3 and takes on the Pacers Friday.

Because Indiana has already taken down the 76ers and Cavaliers, they can secure the top spot in their group before even taking on the Pistons. With a win on Tuesday night, the blue and gold would move to 3-0 in the group, and their worst possible record in Group Play would be 3-1. Only Philadelphia and Cleveland would be able to go 3-1 in Group Play (whoever wins between them on Tuesday), and the Pacers own the head-to-head tiebreaker with both groups. The Pacers would thus clinch the group by winning tomorrow, and the rest of the results would determine who finishes second.

A top-two finish in Group Play is required to reach the Quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament, which begin on December 4. The winner of the three groups in each conference will advance to the knockout rounds, and one wild card team will also advance. The best performing second-place team among all groups in a conference gets the wild card spot, and the tiebreakers are as follows, per the NBA:

• Head-to-head record in the Group Stage
• Point differential in the Group Stage
• Total points scored in the Group Stage
• Regular season record from the 2022-23 NBA regular season
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

If Indiana loses to Atlanta, they can still win the group if Cleveland beats Atlanta next Tuesday, but other tiebreakers could be involved.

"There's an awareness for that," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of his team's knowledge that if they beat the Hawks, they win the group. With a loss, they could still come out on top of Eastern Conference Group A or even be a wild card team. But they would need help elsewhere and would have to win on Friday.

Because point differential and points scored matter, it's important to play well for 48 minutes in these games. So far, the Pacers are +11 in point differential during Group Play.

The Quarterfinals will take place in an NBA team's stadium, but the Semifinals and Championship will be played in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 7 and 9, respectively.

"To go into this game, to clinch [our group], is a big opportunity that we look forward to," Brown said. "We're ready for tomorrow."

Brown noted that the Pacers have talked about the In-Season Tournament and its importance before every game. They will need to keep doing that on Tuesday, especially after a dreadful loss on Sunday. The added importance tomorrow night could help the team focus and bounce back.

Group Play ends next Tuesday, and the Pacers schedule for tournament or regular season games in early December can be revealed after that. They are 7-5 for the campaign and sit at seventh in the Eastern Conference.

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