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The Indiana Pacers were as close as you can get to the NBA Finals, only falling to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami went onto win the NBA Championship in seven games against the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat have went to the Finals three years in a row and have won two straight titles. What do the Pacers need to do to knock off the Heat next season?
Honestly, all Indiana needs to do is add some consistent talent to the bench. They have an interesting situation with Danny Granger to deal with this offseason which could change the state of their bench.
If Indiana trades him, they can build the bench through the draft or maybe get some proven bench players from the trade. They could do that, or they could keep him as a starter and push Lance Stephenson to the bench, or they could use him as a sixth man who could score lots of points off the bench.
So no matter what they do with Granger, their improvement is going to come from the rebuilding of the bench.
Indiana had a great starting lineup this season, so keeping it the same wouldn’t be a bad idea. If Indiana builds their bench this off season and can get some consistent players on it, they could definitely take on anyone in the East, including the Miami Heat and their Big 3, and make it to the NBA Finals next season.
