Pacers' Eastern Conference Finals Run Has Been Historic

The Indiana Pacers entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but are now in line to reach the NBA finals.

They've had some historical moments throughout their playoff run, mainly surrounding the comebacks they have made in each series.

However, they have also set another historical precedent through the first two games of their current series with the New York Knicks.

In this article on NBA.com from John Schuhmann talks about takeaways from the series so far, and one of them is how well the offense has played.

"Through two games, the Pacers have scored 126.6 points per 100 possessions, which would be the second-best mark for any team in the conference finals or Finals in the 29 years we have play-by-play data."

The Pacers entered the playoffs as an offensive-oriented team whose success mainly came from their prolific depth and pace of play. That has been extremely successful so far against the Knicks, who play at a slower pace on only really have seven playable players for the playoffs.

The Pacers have a depth advantage against everyone they face, and use their pace to wear other teams out. It is likely why they have been able to pull off miraculous comebacks, because they are so much fresher then their opponents.

If the Knicks want any chance to slow down the Pacers with the series heading back to Indiana, they need to either find a way to control the pace, or find more players they can play to keep their starters fresher.

Unfortunately that isn't part of the typical strategy for head coach Tom Thibodeau, so it is more likely this trend will continue, unless the Pacers have an off-shooting night.

What is tough for the Knicks on defense is they have some weaknesses that the Pacers have the personnel to take advantage of. Jalen Brunson struggles with the size and length to keep up with guards Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard.

Karl-Anthony Towns doesn't have the athleticism to keep up with the quicker bigs of the Pacers in Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner.

That isn't even talking about how elite Aaron Nesmith has been from the perimter. Overall, the reason the Knicks can't slow down the Pacers is they have so many scoring options and there are multiple players on the Knicks to attack.

While the series is far from over, it is hard to imagine much changing in the coming games given the direct contrasts between the two teams.

More Indiana Pacers news:

Pacers Legend Lance Stephenson Reacts to Knicks Series

Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Completely Brushed Off Comeback Win

Pacers' Aaron Nesmith Called 'Second Coming of Steph Curry'

For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.