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The Indiana Pacers have had a surprising start to the season. Their recent win against the Milwaukee Bucks has placed all the attention on the team. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a dominant performance. He scored 54 points, but the Pacers still came out on top. Toronto Raptors legend, Vince Carter, has understood how this is possible.

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In a recent episode of the VC Show, the 11x All-Star talked about the jump taken by the Pacers this season. Many things have been going well for the team. But everything is working the way it is because of Tyrese Haliburton. Although the Pacers’ recent success might be viewed as an anomaly by a regular fan, when you look into the statistics, the team is doing some things right.

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Vince Carter believes in Indiana

Tyrese Haliburton is leading the charge, and the Pacers are currently third in the East. The Pacers are currently leading the NBA in points per game. They are averaging 126 points per game, and that’s 4 points above the second team.

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Alvin Williams was also part of the conversation. He compared the Pacers to the Sacramento Kings from last year. When a mediocre team suddenly starts winning games, it takes a while for the media and fans to give them enough attention and understand that the team has changed from how it used to be.

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The team has made a few adjustments. They made a veteran player like Buddy Hield come off the bench, while Aaron Nesmith and Bennedict Mathurin have been given more opportunities to develop.

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The recent addition of Bruce Brown in the offseason is an underrated move. He played a key role in the Denver Nuggets winning a championship earlier this year.

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Haliburton is running the offense for the team as the point guard. He is currently averaging 23.6 PPG and 11.6 APG, which are both career highs.

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The Milwaukee Bucks have not found their footing

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The Milwaukee Bucks have been struggling. Not having Jrue Holiday on the team has proven costly for the Bucks. The team is not positioned well defensively, and this can be fatal if not fixed during the duration of the season.

Damian Lillard did not play in the game against the Pacers because of calf soreness. Giannis ended the game with 54 points, which was three points shy of the team’s franchise record. Although it was a tough loss, it’s still early in the season. The team has a lot of time to get things figured out and show their full potential.

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What do you think of the Indiana Pacers staying on top of the leaderboard? Do you think the Bucks will have the same level of dominance as the previous years with their lack of defense? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Written by

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Rijin Varghese

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Rijin is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Specializing in the technical aspects of the game, keeps a close eye on the three principles of coaching of Gregg Popovich: Humility, Discipline, and Determination. That same attention to detail made him a big fan of the reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. While Rijin did not follow the traditional route to become a journalist, his passion for basketball and writing brought him to ES.

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Caroline Joseph

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