5 reasons Indiana Pacers can win NBA Finals
By John Buhler
3. Defense wins championships
Defense wins championships. That applies in all professional sports leagues and the NBA is no different. Playing solid defense has been the bread and butter of the Vogel era in Indianapolis. While scoring has been hit or miss, Indiana is almost always a top five defensive team under Vogel.
How this positively impacts the Pacers as they embark on another trip to the NBA Playoffs is that in the postseason, the defense often dictates the pace. Playoff games are naturally slower and it fits right into what the Pacers need to do to be a championship-caliber team.
By holding their own on the defensive end of the floor, the Pacers can choose to milk the clock on offense and look for players like George and Ellis to take the best shot available. Indiana isn’t built to win high-scoring affairs but are more than well equipped to win a knockdown, drag-out fight in the NBA Playoffs.
Yes, they do have a pace and space, small ball affair in place in 2015-16, but now that Indiana has again qualified for the Eastern Conference Playoffs, would it be all that farfetched to see them gravitate to what them such a dominant playoff team in year’s past?: slow the game down, play tenacious defense, and dictate pace to win a low-scoring donnybrook.
Next: 2. Paul George