After losing the game against the Thunder, the strength of several opponents after the Pacers is generally weak, and the Pacers' first position in the East has been basically solidified, so when other teams begin to launch the final sprint to the playoffs, the Pacers have ushered in a rare wave of rotational repair time.

With five games left in the season, the Pacers turned on the rotation mode, first against the Magic, Pickles Peppers only played 6 minutes before being replaced, and in that game, although the main firepower of Pickles Peppers was missing, the Pacers still won easily with a score of 112:101.

Then, in the Pacers' away game against the Pistons, Roy Hibbert and George Hill were directly put on the injury list, and they didn't even go to Detroit, but under the alternate firepower of Ye Xuan and Pickle Pepper backcourt, the Pacers still won with an 18-point difference.

The Pacers, who have rested the main team for two consecutive games, seem to have tasted the sweetness, so in the game against the Timberwolves, they still chose to rest Ye Xuan and Lance Stephenson. However, after the team lost two outside blockers, the defense became very fragile, and under the explosion of Kevin Martin and Kevin Love, the opponent won by 14 points.

Fortunately, it is the end of the regular season, the results of each team have been basically determined, and the Pacers' first place in the East is very solid, because with two games remaining, they are still 2.5 wins ahead of the Heat, who are second in the East.

In the last two games, the Pacers faced the 76ers, who are aiming to rebuild, and the Lakers, who are short of soldiers. The two teams have obviously been in a bad position, so the Pacers did not make any resistance in the face of the main rotation, so the Pacers, who directly used the full bench lineup in the last two games, ushered in a wave of two consecutive wins.

At this point, the regular season is over, and the Pacers have lost only two of their final 12 games, leading the East with 58 wins and 24 losses, while the Heat are in second place with 54 wins and 28 losses. The next three to eight are the Raptors with 48 wins, the Bulls with 48 wins but only fourth because of the win-loss relationship, the Wizards with 44 wins, the Nets with 44 wins, the Bobcats with 43 wins and the Hawks with 39 wins. The poor Knicks finished ninth in the East by one win and missed the playoffs.

Compared with the ease of the East, the competition for a playoff spot in the West is much more fierce. In addition to the Spurs, who lead the league with a 62-20 record, there are six teams in the West with at least 50 wins, with the Thunder in second place with 59 wins and 23 losses, and the Clippers with 56 wins and 26 losses.

After that, the Rockets also had 54 wins, while the Rockets' first-round opponent Trail Blazers lost their home-court advantage because of the win-loss relationship, although they both won 54 wins. The sixth-place Warriors have 51 wins, the Grizzlies have 50 wins, and the Mavericks, who are eighth in the West, have 49 wins. The Suns are 48 wins, in fact, 48 wins can enter the top four in the East, and under such competition in the West, they will not be able to make the playoffs.

At this point, the opponents of each team in the first round have also been determined. The Pacers really faced the Hawks who beat them by a big score last time, and the bull-horse battle in the West is also quite concerned. However, before the playoffs begin, NBA teams also have a three-day break before entering the playoffs.

The playoff schedule has come out on April 23, the Pacers will accept the challenge of the Atlanta Hawks at their home stadium at the Conseco Arena, on April 26, they will play another game in Indiana, and then on April 29, the Pacers will rush to Atlanta to challenge their opponents, followed by another game in Atlanta on May 1. If the Pacers can finish the battle in four games, then they can sit back and wait for the Bulls and Wizards to decide the winner before playing a second round.

In a best-of-seven game, if the Pacers are not able to settle the battle in four games, they will need to return to their home Consecco arena on May 3 to play again, and if necessary, there will be two games in Atlanta and Indiana on May 5 and 7. However, in terms of the regular season record, the Pacers, who won 58 wins, have an absolute advantage, but in terms of the most recent meeting, the Hawks seem to have a psychological advantage.

The day before the game, the teams reported their playoff rosters to the NBA, and the Pacers' 12-man roster looked strong: Paul George and Ye Xuan had already shown the strength of the league's superstars, while interior gate Roy Hibbert was also a good hand at interior protection, and David West, who was once the best partner of CP3 during the Hornets era, was also an All-Star player, showing excellent range and low post ability at the power forward position.

Lance Stephenson was also one of the nominees for the league's All-Defensive Team last year, and George Hill is also a player with solid fundamentals and not cool skills, but he is effective. Plus Luis Scola, Ian Masinmi, C.J. Watson, Chris Copeland, as well as Solomon Hill and Donald Sloan.

At first glance, the Pacers' bench strength is not outstanding, but combined with the team's coordination and the cooperation between the players, it is simply just right, especially this year, Pickled Pepper played an average of 36 minutes per game, can get 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals Strong statistics, while David West and Roy Hibbert can also send 15+7 and 12+8 data per game.

Not to mention that after Ye Xuan joined the Pacers, although he only played about 30 games, he was able to score 21 points and add 5 assists in an average of 28 minutes per game.

But Ye Xuan in addition to the bright data, he also injected vitality into the Pacers on defense, when Ye Xuan was on the court, the Pacers' average points per game were 93 points, and when Ye Xuan was not on the court, the average points per game was instantly increased to 101 points, although everyone is now starting to play fast-paced offensive basketball, but there is an old saying "win the box office by offense, win the championship by defense".

Last year, the Pacers without Ye Xuan used this lineup to fight all the way to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals, and this year, with the addition of Ye Xuan, the strength of the Pacers is even better, so the Pacers will be more confident and vow to win this year's championship.