At the forefront of the matchup comes an elite guard matchup between Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA MVP award this season and Haliburton has emerged as a budding superstar.

The Pacers enter the championship series as the underdogs on the road, a place they have thrived thus far in the playoffs. They defeated the No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals series, 4-1, and the No. 3 New York Knicks in the Conference finals, 4-2.