Without featuring on Saturday's slate of games, the Indiana Pacers secured a berth in the 2019 playoffs.
Courtesy of the Miami Heat's 29-point road loss against the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers will feature in the postseason for the fourth straight year and for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
MORE: Updated NBA Playoff picture
The Pacers are the fourth team in the East and the sixth team overall to book a spot in this year's postseason after the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Denver Nuggets.
Our ticket is punched for the postseason.#GoldDontQuit pic.twitter.com/MItnXRKPkQ
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 23, 2019
This year has been a remarkable achievement on the part of the team.
Their best player Victor Oladipo had been ruled out for the season on January 23rd with an injury to his right knee. In his absence, over the last 26 games and 37 overall, the team has weathered the storm and gone 19-18 including a six-game win streak in early February.
With and without Oladipo, the team's success has heavily relied on their defense this season. Through 73 games, the Pacers have ranked among the league's best in major defensive categories such as Defensive rating (105.4, 2nd), points allowed per game (104.2, 1st), opponents' field goal percentage (45.0%, 6th) and turnovers committed by opponents (15.9, tied 4th).
MORE: History of the Indiana Pacers
During their time as part of the NBA, the Pacers have made the playoffs 25 of the 43 seasons which includes six division titles, seven conference finals appearances and one NBA Finals appearance in 2000.
The Pacers, who are the most successful franchise in ABA history (most championships - 3), will bring their rich Playoff experience to India this coming October to play two preseason games against the Sacramento Kings in Mumbai.
Forward Myles Turner was pumped about visiting India. In an interview to Quint in February, he said: “I'm really just excited for the fans. They're going to be able to see their first NBA game. It's quite ground-breaking”.
At the time of writing, the Pacers are positioned fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 44-29.
