Let’s be frivolous just for fun. Let’s say the Indiana Pacers finish this season as the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, they square off with the 6 seed Miami Heat. The Pacers pull it out.
In round two, the Pacers travel to Boston to play the seconded seeded Celtics. We saw that the Pacers can hang with Boston this weekend, and so in this hypothetical situation, the Pacers pull the upset to advance to the conference finals.
In the 1-4 matchup in the East, the 76ers take down the Raptors in a grueling series, setting up a Sixers-Pacers conference final.