The Pacers are like your younger brother – irritating, scrappy, and frankly, pretty darn annoying.
For years now, you’ve played bully ball in the driveway, backed him down and used your size to win 1-on-1 games with relative ease.
Then one day, you look up and your brother’s up 7-5, dripping in sweat, but uncharacteristically calm and laser focused. Hold up. Since when is he 6’2? He’s that close to dunking? Alright, I’ve got to turn it up a notch. This kid’s a player now.
You go back to the old reliable moves. Two dribbles left, crossover to the right, stepback. Swish. Fake with the right, spin move, finish with the left off the glass. Now you’re feeling it. Nice try, little bro.
He’ll have his moment in the sun, but not today. This is still your domain. He made you respect him, but your experience, toughness and talent won out. You almost let him get under your skin, but instead, you stayed under his skin.
To me, that’s how this Celtics-Pacers series is going to unfold. The Celtics should not, under any circumstances take Indiana lightly. The Pacers may be relatively young, but they’re relentless, play as a team and genuinely believe their time is now.
They have absolutely nothing to lose. All the pressure’s on the Celtics, which can be tricky. I expect Indiana to steal one in Boston, like the Heat and Cavaliers did, and I also expect Boston to bounce back like it did in each of those series.
But this time, I think Boston will drop a game on the road. Indiana’s going to score. It’s just going to happen. While the Celtics would prefer these games end up in the 100s or 110s, the Pacers are inevitably going to drop 120 or 130 once or twice along the way.
They have an identity that works, they’re fresh off a Game 7 beat down of the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and they’re not afraid of the Celtics. So anyone expecting a Celtics sweep, get ready to buy a T.J. McConnell Fathead, plaster it on your wall and throw darts like you’ve never thrown darts before (until the NBA Finals against Kyrie Irving, of course).
It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? A team called the Pacers is known for its pace. I used to do impressions as a kid (wipe my forehead for the Heat, a magic trick for the Magic, a howl for the Timberwolves, etc. – very advanced stuff). It’s like someone had an idea in a team meeting and said, “Hey, let’s bring our team name to life,” then they laughed about it daily until it gradually became their identity.
The reason I think the Pacers will take two games, not zero or one, is because they’re able to fight fire with fire. The Heat and Cavaliers didn’t have close to enough firepower offensively to hang with the Celtics. The Pacers do, and if you don’t realize that now, you will soon.
Indiana shot 67.1 percent the other day against the Knicks. That’s the highest mark ever in a playoff game. In Game 7. At Madison Square Garden. Tom Thibodeau is still shvitzing two days later. Spike Lee may never recover. Reggie Miller is doing cartwheels.
The Pacers are shooting 50.7 percent over 13 playoff games and averaging a league-best 114.2 points. Granted, that was against a Bucks team that my seventh grade Killer Bs squad could drop 60 on, and a Knicks team collectively ready to check into an infirmary, but it’s still rather impressive.
OK, hold up. This guy really likes the Pacers. This is CelticsBlog, right? It is! I’m getting there. So Indiana’s legit. We get all that (at least I think so). But, no, it won’t be enough.
Every time the Pacers provide a punch, I expect the Celtics to provide a counterpunch. The Celtics haven’t lost three games in a row all season, and I don’t expect them to start now. I doubt they’ll lose two in a row, either.
One of this team’s best assets – and something that separates it from Celtics teams in the recent past – is its ability to not let damage escalate. In previous years, it felt like once one thing went wrong, two or three more things might go wrong.
This year, at least to me, it doesn’t feel that way. I trust this team. I trust the starters. I trust the bench. I trust Joe Mazzulla. The Celtics are resilient, mentally tough and unfazed by small setbacks.
So if the younger brother makes some noise, remember that you’ve been here before. You’re built for this. His time is coming, but your time is now. Seize the moment.
Celtics in 6.
