The Indiana Pacers are getting hot at the right time, winning seven of their last 10 games ahead of Friday night’s matchup with Cleveland.
The Pacers have positioned themselves well heading into the final weekend of the NBA’s regular season, needing just one win or a Philadelphia loss to guarantee at least the No. 6 seed and the team’s first playoff series since 2020.
However, with a strong finish over the final two games of the year, the Blue and Gold could get as high as the No. 3 seed should things fall their way.
Under the NBA’s new playoff format, the No. 7-10 seeds all compete in the Play-In tournament. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds play each other, with the winner earning the No. 7 spot. The loser of the 7/8 game would host the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10-seed game for the final playoff spot.
The NBA’s 2024 Play-In Tournament is used to determine the 7 and 8 seeds in the NBA Playoffs for both conferences (Provided Photo/NBA.com).
At the very least, the Pacers are going to want to avoid this Play-In Tournament, where one or two poor performances would knock you out of the postseason.
Now, Indiana currently sits behind No. 5-seed Orlando, who sports the same record as the Pacers. The Blue and Gold sit just half a game behind Cleveland, who they play on Friday night.
A pair of wins for Indiana, who will host Atlanta on Sunday, would at the very least guarantee the No. 5 seed. However, there is an outside scenario where the Pacers could get as high as the No. 3 seed and host the sixth-best team in the conference in the postseason.
Jeremiah Johnson, the Pacers’ sideline reporter and pregame, halftime, and postgame television host on Bally Sports, joined Query and Company on Friday to break down all of the potential playoff possibilities for Indiana, including what it will take to host a series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
In his interview with Jake Query and Jimmy Cook, Johnson also talked about what the preferred outcome would be for the Pacers, and what is the most realistic scenario ahead of the team’s penultimate regular season game in Cleveland on Friday night.
Listen to the podcast below for the entire conversation with Johnson. Kevin Bowen of “The Wake Up Call with KB & Andy” on 1075 The Fan joined later in the podcast with his take on the Pacers’ current scenarios.
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How the Pacers can host a playoff series was originally published on 1075thefan.com
