Worst first-round opponent for each NBA Eastern Conference playoff team

Indiana Pacers: Miami Heat

No particular team is an ideal matchup for the Indiana Pacers, especially in the absence of Victor Oladipo in his All-Star form. After electing to sit out the NBA’s restart, Oladipo has pivoted, having made the trip to the bubble with the expectations of playing in scrimmages.

Oladipo posted a season-high 27 points the last time we saw him, but the gap between his best self is too vast to make up under these circumstances.

Tied with the Sixers, Indiana could realistically fall into a first-round matchup with Boston. They’d at least have some intrigue with a frontcourt advantage, where perhaps Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner could wreak havoc in the paint — Sabonis did put up 21.5 points on 52.9 percent shooting with 8.0 assists per game in the two-game split.

Miami offers no such openings to exploit with an imposing frontcourt duo of Bam Adebayo and Myers Leonard. Despite a defense that trended downward as the season progresses, the Heat also have the personnel, from Jimmy Butler to Jae Crowder to Andre Iguodala, to slow down T.J. Warren, Indy’s second-leading scorer.

The Pacers hold opponents to the sixth-lowest percentage from beyond the arc, a necessary counter to Miami’s No. 1 3-point percentage.

Ultimately, even amid another overachieving season, Indiana’s lack of star power will result in the same fate as last season. That issue would be present against every other potential first-round matchups, which doesn’t make them the wrong choice. Miami simply seems built to counter what few pluses the Pacers have going — also, Butler’s vendetta on Warren.