NBA Playoff Predictions 2012: Indiana Pacers Will Shock Eastern Conference

In the muddled Eastern Conference, it is anybody's bet who gets on a run in playoffs and surprises fans. Most people will choose a glamorous team such as Chicago (with the reigning MVP), Miami (the big three), Boston (the Boston three party) or New York and their season long realer-than-reality show.

Well, there is one team that is often overlooked, and it is the Indiana Pacers. They currently sit at the third spot in the conference. If the playoffs began today they would be playing the Orlando Magic. With the recent accusations about Dwight Howard demanding Van Gundy to be fired, it would not be much of a surprise if they were a one-and-done in the first round.

While they would likely need to defeat one of the Eastern powerhouses in Miami or Chicago, they are very familiar with the intra-division Bulls and have fought them in head-to-head match ups and defeated them 95-90 on the road in January.

They certainly were watching the recent matchup between the Knicks and Bulls in which Derrick Rose, returning from action for the first time in a month, missed two costly free throws late in the game, and Joakim Noah was out-hustled by Tyson Chandler.This shows that the Bulls can be susceptible late in the game, which bodes well in a potential playoff matchup.

The Knicks and Heat will perhaps be even tougher tests for them. They lost the first two matchups against New York by a combined 29 points. They were losing the third game by 17 entering the fourth quarter, but responded with a 40 point fourth quarter highlighted by Danny Granger's scoring 14 of those. They showed some tenacity by refusing to fall down against a potential playoff team despite having no momentum.

The Heat won three of the four regular season matchups, but everyone knows its a different animal in the postseason for LeBron and company. They will have the pressure squarely on their backs, and an aggressive team that plays physical defense such as Indiana can be all it takes to ruin their high expectations.

In the game that the Pacers defeated the Heat, the Pacers may have found a bit of a blueprint to mitigate the strength of Miami. Point guard Darren Collison was a huge factor in the game by scoring 20 points and shooting 7-12 from the field, but his true impact was on defense. He was extremely aggressive on the ball, and played a hand in LeBron James committing six turnovers.Also, Hibbert and David West were tremendous under the boards—they held Chris Bosh to a mere two rebounds and forced him into four turnovers.

Head coach Frank Vogel knows he has a legitimately tough defense with big man Roy Hibbert imposing his will on centers across the league. Hibbert is as physical as any center in the game and has averaged two blocks per game along with nine rebounds. David West will also play a pivotal role in the playoffs as he must potentially guard a Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett or Elton Brand. The Pacers are ninth in the league in points per game, allowing 94.

In the playoffs, the Pacers will certainly not be the favorite, and rightfully so. They do not have the star-power or credentials of the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls. They do, however, feature a strong defensive unit, in addition to a versatile scorer in Danny Granger.

With nine games remaining, there can be some more movement involving the playoff seeding, but the Indiana Pacers are hungry, athletic and talented enough to shock the Eastern Conference and end up in the NBA Finals come June.