3 Pacers peaking at the right time ahead of Eastern Conference Finals series vs Boston Celtics

T.J. McConnell

As annoying as Siakam's length and shot-making could make him, it wouldn't come close to the damage T.J. McConnell could do if he continues to be a pest for the Pacers against the Celtics in the playoffs' penultimate round.

Averaging over a steal and a block per game versus New York in just 20.6 minutes per game, McConnell could make life difficult for Derrick White and Jrue Holiday in Boston's backcourt. Worse yet, McConnell has a chance to neutralize Payton Pritchard's contributions in the C's second unit.

McConnell is every bit as annoying from the mid-range as Siakam, and he's not someone the Celtics can afford to double-team considering the weapons on the perimeter (Andrew Nembhard, Myles Turner) the Pacers possess. If he's in the game at all, Joe Mazzulla should stick Holiday on him to make him as much of a non-factor as possible.

If not, it could be McConnell's minutes when Indiana makes their game-changing runs over the course of the series. And that would keep Celtics fans up for years if they somehow did the unthinkable and lost four games to this Pacers team.