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At the start of this year's NBA playoffs, Golden State Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green called out the Indiana Pacers for being a regular-season team. Indiana has since made a surprise Eastern Conference finals run. However, its unexpected postseason success hasn't swayed the four-time NBA champion's opinion.
Green's initial criticism came after the Pacers' 109-94 Game 1 first-round playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On "The Draymond Green Show," he expressed skepticism about Indiana's run-and-gun, offense-heavy playstyle translating to the postseason.
"They don't defend. They haven't defended anybody all year," Green said. "... You've got to defend when it comes playoff time. You can't just run in transition. You're going to have to execute in the halfcourt. ... I do think the Pacers are an 82-game team, not a 16-game team."
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Following Draymond Green's comments, the sixth-seeded Pacers rattled off four wins in five outings to dispatch the third-seeded Bucks in six games. They followed that up by grinding out a seven-game second-round series win over the second-seeded New York Knicks.
Notably, both Milwaukee and New York were shorthanded in their respective series against Indiana. Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) was sidelined all of Round 1. Meanwhile, the Knicks were without star forward Julius Randle (shoulder) and several other key contributors in Round 2.
Nonetheless, few predicted the young, inexperienced Pacers, who hadn't made a postseason appearance since 2020, to win multiple playoff series.
However, despite Indiana being one of four teams remaining, Green still views it as a pretender rather than a contender. On the latest episode of his show, a fan asked the four-time All-Star if he wanted to apologize for his previous Pacers critique. He instead doubled down, noting that they took advantage of lackluster competition.
“You've got to take your hat off to the Indiana Pacers. I still personally think they're an 82-game team, but I didn't think the Knicks were real. So, somebody had to get there,” Green said.
Green also previewed Indiana's upcoming East finals series against the league-best Boston Celtics. He predicted the Pacers' Cinderella run to reach a grinding halt after five games.
“Now it gets real. Now you get Boston. ... This is a totally different animal," Green said. "I got Boston. No problem. It should be a gentleman's sweep. So, no, there's no apologies. .. They got to the conference finals. Somebody had to get there. It's the East. We get it."
Can Indiana prove Draymond Green wrong again against Boston?
While Indiana has elite offensive firepower, as Draymond Green noted, questions remain about its ability to match Boston's defensive intensity.
In the regular season, the Celtics and Pacers finished first (122.2) and second (120.5) in offensive rating. However, Boston placed second (110.6) in defensive rating, while Indiana ranked 24th (117.6), the worst of all 16 playoff teams.
So, Tyrese Haliburton and Co. will likely have to raise their defense to another level to give the Celtics a legitimate challenge. However, even if they fail to do so, their high-octane offense should be enough to help them steal at least one game.
Game 1 of the Pacers and Celtics' Round 3 series tips off Tuesday in Boston.
