The first-round NBA Eastern Conference playoff series between the Pacers and Bucks will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

The Pacers went 4-1 in the five meetings last season, followed by a 4-2 triumph in the first round. Things flipped this season, with the Bucks taking three of four (and the loss coming on Haliburton’s four-point play with three seconds left).

The postseason has become the NBA's second season. All of the drama from the 2024-25 NBA regular season -- the blockbuster trades, the stunning coach firings, the social media and player podcast feuds, the increasingly dangerous celebrations of Ja Morant -- is in the rearview mirror. It was just prologue, the setup before the real story began.