Pacers Playoff Run Wildly Compared to 80s Showtime Lakers

The Indiana Pacers had a chance to close out the Knicks in five games on Thursday night. They were trying to close out a third team in five games, as they haven't had a long series yet.

Instead, they played their worst game of the playoffs. The Pacers didn't come out with the proper energy to match the desperation of a Knicks team that was facing elimination.

Tyrese Haliburton, in particular, looked bad. He didn't look for his shot nearly enough, looking to pass the ball more instead of shooting it. Despite this bad performance, the Pacers have still been putting up historic playoff numbers.

Indiana has been putting up numbers that closely resemble the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s. Prior to Game 5, they had been putting up numbers that no one had seen since those teams.

The Pacers have scored the most points per game in the playoffs since the 1986-87 Lakers. Their shooting numbers are the best of any team since the Lakers in 1987-88.

Those Lakers teams ended up winning five titles in the 1980s. Obviously, the Pacers have not come close to that kind of height. They still have to win one more game to make the Finals.

When the Pacers are right, they are flying around the court and are hard to beat. When Haliburton is aggressive with his shot, the Pacers are able to put up historic offensive numbers.

The question is how the Pacers are able to come back mentally from a performance like that. Those Lakers teams were able to shake off a bad game and get a win when they needed it.

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Indiana is going to have the biggest game in 25 years in Indiana on Saturday night. They have a chance to make the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history.

The Pacers are facing a must-win game on Saturday. If they lose, they will have a very slim chance of beating the Knicks on the road in Madison Square Garden.

They need to play like the Showtime Lakers, just as they were for most of this series.

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