Source: Boston Globe / Getty
The Indiana Pacers lost a close game to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, 129-124. Despite the loss, there was a feeling of optimism from Pacer fans and pundits alike.
Even after giving up 81 first-half points, and even with star Tyrese Haliburton on a minutes cap as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, the Pacers fought back and made it a tight game down the stretch. The last time the Pacers played Boston on their home court, Boston beat them by 51 points. Clearly, there has been ample improvement since then.
During Wednesday’s edition of The Ride With JMV, Spero Dedes of CBS and TNT joined the show, where he gave his thoughts on what the Pacers showed in their close loss to the Celtics.
“I think all things considered, with Haliburton coming back after his time missed, considering the fact you’re probably playing the best team in the conference on the road, I thought it was an important first step and a necessary step as Rick Carlisle and this group try to figure out how they’re going to play rotations, how they’re going to handle some of the elite teams and arguably the best defensive team in the league last night, and despite the fact that they come up short, I think it was, I don’t want to say a breakthrough, but I think an important step for a team like Indiana considering where they are.”
Losing is never fun, and there’s no denying that managing to fight back into the game only to fall just short is a major letdown. However, this Pacers team is continuing to show how hard they play, and that even when they are shorthanded, opposing teams better take them seriously.
Listen to JMV’s full conversation with Spero Dedes and more down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
