Only 1 win away from the championship. After the Pacers fell last season, should we hit the No. 1 pick in the new season?

Entering October, the NBA new season preseason kicked off. Looking back at the operations of all teams in the league throughout the offseason, the West fell into serious intra-roll competition, the Rockets got Durant, the Nuggets got Cameron Johnson + Hardaway Jr. + Valan + Bruce Brown, and the Clippers got Bill + Paul + Collins + Daluo. The general consensus reached is that the Thunder will challenge the new season. However, the Eastern Conference is actively implementing the "anti-involve" strategy. In essence, only the Cavaliers and the Knicks have the strength in the finals. The key is that these two teams also have natural shortcomings in the high-end game of the playoffs, such as the Cavaliers' double-back height is not enough and lacks confrontation; the Knicks core Brunson's high-end game efficiency is very low. But compared with other Eastern teams, there is no problem playing in the regular season.

According to the strength of the Eastern Conference teams given by the US media, in the second echelon, there are three teams with young people as the core, including Magic + Pistons + Hawks. The top three regulars in the Eastern Conference in the past few years have lost their competitiveness. Embiid and George, who have received the most salary for the 76ers, are troubled by injuries; Antetokounmpo, here, has been thinking about the future, and his attitude of winning the championship will not change, but it is impossible for the Bucks and there is no helper. But there are two other teams in a similar situation, namely the Celtics and the Pacers. Their withdrawal from the competition in the new season is the same reason: their core injury. Tatum is expected to return next season, but the Celtics are going to cut their wages; Halliburton has a severe injury to a laceration of the Achilles tendon, and the Pacers actually have no choice.

Last summer, the Pacers accidentally broke into the Eastern Conference Finals. Last season, the regular season scored 50 wins and 32 losses. Without attracting much attention from the Pacers, they defeated the Bucks and Cavaliers (first in the East) with a score of 4-1 in the first and second rounds of the playoffs, and also eliminated the Knicks 4-2 in the Eastern Conference! Including the Finals Thunder and the four-round series, Halliburton, as the core of the team, contributed a final victory in each round and also set an NBA historical record! The Pacers finally fell 3-4 in the finals, but to put it bluntly, the Pacers are only one game away from the championship. Fans who have watched the finals should know what happened to G4. The league did not intend to let the Pacers win because the Pacers lead 2-1 in the first three games! The finals were almost July, Halliburton persisted with a calf strain injury, and eventually suffered a tear on the right Achilles tendon in the tiebreak. This time, the Pacers missed the championship last season, and also affected all the team's plans for the new season. The team did not strengthen any of this summer, but instead let Turner go. Turner was finally signed by the Bucks for 109 million in four years, while the Pacers only renewed the contract for substitute center Isaiah Jackson for 21 million in three years, but the team was very satisfied with coach Carlisle and completed the early renewal. The US media estimates that the Pacers' combat power will be around eighth in the East in the new season, but to be honest, Halliburton's fall means that the Pacers' sky has collapsed! Only Sica was left with Matherine, Nesmith, Nemhard, and a few people. Although the overall combat power was good, there was no upper limit guarantee.

Indeed, if it weren't for Halliburton's finals again and again in the playoffs, the Pacers would not have played the finals. But Halliburton is basically unable to make a comeback in the new season. What should the Pacers do? If you do your best, Sika will definitely have a chance to enter the playoffs with the team. After all, the overall competitiveness of the East is insufficient and the fault is too serious. But if you meet the Cavaliers or the Knicks again, who can stand up for them? In the 23-24 season, the core lineup has already had rich playoff experience in the finals of last season, and there is no need for them to work hard for a playoff ticket! Of course, as long as Halliburton returns, the Pacers will immediately return to the championship level. In ESPN's words, Halliburton is already the best point guard in the league.

lists several data. In the past 30 years, the NBA has entered the super key ball data (helping the team to equalize or lead in the last 90 seconds), Halliburton is 6 of 7 shots, occupying the first place in history alone! In the statistics of tying or overtaking the ball in the last two minutes of last season, Halliburton's shooting percentage exceeded 90%! This is based on Halliburton's only 25 years old. He was once asked by the king to make a price for the entire league and belonged to the abandoned one. But when it comes to the Pacers, their stable performance of 20 points and 10 assists per game consolidates the team's lower limit, similar to Harden; but unlike Harden, Halliburton has a big heart. In the four rounds of the playoffs last season, Halliburton's On-Off value was +14.7. For horizontal comparison, Alexander's On-Off value was +1.8 in the playoffs.

Can the walker play a bad job? In Sika's previous deal, the Pacers sent their first round pick to the Raptors, who originally owed the Raptors a first round pick (26 years) with the top four picks, but when the Raptors traded Ingram with the Pelicans, the Raptors sent the Pacers' first round pick to the Pelicans. It is worth mentioning that the Pacers management is definitely foresighted. When they were in the G5 of the Finals last season, they packaged the signing rights of this year's No. 23 pick + 23rd second-round pick Mojave to the Pelicans, and traded for their own first-round pick. Halliburton recovers well, Carlisle leads the team to play well, at least ensures that they gain something next season. They will come back until the 26-27 season.