Underdog Pacers on the Verge of an Unthinkable NBA Finals Upset Against the Thunder: Can They Seal the Deal?

But the Pacers have been a different team for several months now. After starting the season 10-15 with a minus-3.6-point differential per game, they’ve gone 55-24 with a +4.7-point differential per game since Dec. 13. That’s almost a full 82-games worth of data that reflect the Pacers are substantially better and includes four rounds of playoffs, where the schedule is much tougher than the average stretch of regular season games.

A lot of teams get hot in the month leading up to the playoffs only to fall back down to earth. It’s hard to trust a good stretch in a small sample because there are so many variables. It could be a stretch of easy games (especially at the end of the season when several NBA Lottery teams have deprioritized winning) or a run of unsustainable shooting.

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