The Indiana Pacers are in the playoffs, but they aspire for more

The Pacers want to make a playoff run

Apr 14, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are playoff bound for the first time since 2020, and they are about to play the first series in their new era. Led by star guard Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers have taken a step toward where they want to be.

Indiana clinched their postseason spot on Sunday by beating the Atlanta Hawks, They finished with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning they avoided the Play-In Tournament and will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. And while the blue and gold did express some excitement about being in the playoff field, the messaging about the postseason has been focused and determined.

"This is a new beginning," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Sunday afternoon. "We've worked hard, we've played extremely hard this year to put ourselves in this position, and we're looking forward to the next step."

Carlisle has coached 133 playoff games in his career. He guided the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA title in 2011 and has made it past the first round six different times as a head coach in his career — more when including his days as a player or an assistant. He knows what it takes to make a run in the postseason.

That's why his tonal shift was so meaningful after he shared that he is looking forward to the next steps with his team. Carlisle views making the playoffs as an accomplishment, but his team hopes to achieve far more.

"We're happy to be in, but our work's just begun," he said. "That's the way we're going to look at this. Just getting to the playoffs is not the goal. The goal is a championship."

The head coach added that his team has big goals and high standards. They have to reach the playoffs to accomplish those goals in the first place, but now they want to win and advance. The team will learn a lot about who they are and what they need from this playoff run since it is the first for the group.

"We're still young, and I'm not going to use the young excuse card," Carlisle said, noting that his players are growing into being a young, yet veteran, team. "We've shown many times what we're capable of, and that's got to be what we aspire to [do]."

Haliburton agreed. "We're not just satisfied being here. We want to take a lot more than that," he said Tuesday. He doesn't want to look back at the past — he wants to look forward.

The playoffs are a different game. It can be slower paced, and scouting reports are far more detailed. Adjustments come quickly. Execution is important, and the preparation process is vital.

Many Indiana players have been through it in past stops, but they haven't gone through those steps together, or with this coaching staff. It will be a learning experience for everyone, but one they hope can turn into wins quickly.

"It's going to be a different game. Everything is under a microscope," forward Pascal Siakam, who won a championship in 2019, said. "The intensity grows and I think the hardest playing team is always going to give itself an opportunity to win the game."

Those are the lessons coming for the Pacers in the playoffs. Everyone on the roster will get their own first hand account of what the postseason is really like, and it will make them better in the future. The entire organization will improve for it, and they'll have more data about who they are as a team.

The roster does have some experience with big games and intense prep. They went through it during the In-Season Tournament back in December. The Pacers reached the title game before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they learned a lot about how to handle bigger stages and increased attention.

That should help them in the playoffs. They'll hope it does, because they aren't just happy to be there like some young, inexperienced teams. The Pacers want to make noise.

"This is not an organization that is just happy to be in the playoffs... that's not what this is about," Carlisle said. "This is not small market, lowered expectations. We can't have that."

Indiana wants to win, and it all starts on Sunday in Milwaukee.

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