Pacers News: Mike D'Antoni Compares Indiana to Historic 7-Seconds-or-Less Suns

The Indiana Pacers have one of the most up-tempo offenses that the league has seen in quite some time. They love to get out and play quickly before the defense can get set up.

Multiple times throughout this playoff run, the Pacers have scored within four seconds of another team making a bucket. That's how quickly they can get donw the court.

While things have slowed down a bit in the NBA Finals against the Thunder, the Pacers are still getting compared to the Seven-Seconds-or-Less Suns teams from the mid-2000s, including from that team's coach.

Mike D'Antoni thinks these Pacers are better than his Suns ever were

Mike D'Antoni was the coach of those Suns teams that had Steve Nash running the show. He also thinks that the Pacers resemble those teams, but he thinks they are at a higher level than they ever got to.

“I enjoy watching Indiana.” D’Antoni told The Ringer. "They’ve put together a team that plays similar to the 2004 Phoenix Suns—but I think at a higher level.”

The coach who was the architect of an offense that revolutionized the game even thinks that the Pacers are a special offense, led by a special player.

Tyrese Haliburton is the engine of the offense. He is someone who loves to throw a pass ahead and get his teammates on the run. He might not be able to do much of that in Game 6, which is his injury, though.

Pascal Siakam is a player who has really embraced this style of offense. He has been able to break out on offense and get easy transition buckets because of his hustle.

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Siakam is the one player in the starting lineup who can create and make tough shots from anywhere on the court when things grind down to a halt. The Suns didn't really have someone like that.

The Pacers are a really good team when they are fully healthy. Unfortunately, they are going to have to win the next two games without a fully healthy Haliburton if they are going to win the title.

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