1997–98 Indiana Pacers season

1997–98 Indiana Pacers season
Head coach	Larry Bird
General manager	Donnie Walsh
Arena	Market Square Arena
Results
Record	58–24 (.707)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Finals (eliminated 3-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Midwest, WTTV
Radio	WIBC

The 1997–98 Indiana Pacers season was the 22nd season of the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] It was Larry Bird's first year as head coach. The Pacers would return to the playoffs and finish the season with a 58-24 record, second in the Central Division. In the postseason, they would defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, then defeat the New York Knicks in the semifinals, but would lose to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. For the season, the team sported new pinstripe uniforms, which would remain in use until 2005. Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, and coach Bird represented the Eastern Conference during the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. It was Smits' only All-Star appearance.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	12	Austin Croshere	SF/PF	United States	Providence

Roster

Indiana Pacers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 4 Best, Travis 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Georgia Tech PF 21 Bohannon, Etdrick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Auburn Montgomery SF 44 Croshere, Austin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Providence PF 33 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Texas–El Paso PF 32 Davis, Dale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Clemson SG 20 Hoiberg, Fred 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Iowa State PG 13 Jackson, Mark 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) St. John's SF 9 McKey, Derrick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Alabama SG 31 Miller, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) UCLA SF 17 Mullin, Chris 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) St. John's PF 43 Pope, Mark 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Kentucky SF 5 Rose, Jalen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Michigan C 45 Smits, Rik 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Marist C 41 West, Mark 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Old Dominion PG 3 Workman, Haywoode  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oral Roberts	Head coach Larry Bird (Indiana State) Assistant coach(es) Rick Carlisle (Virginia) Dick Harter (Pennsylvania) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

• Guard Haywoode Workman missed the entire season due to an injury.

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Rik Smits	Mark Pope	Mark West
PF	Dale Davis	Antonio Davis		Austin Croshere
SF	Chris Mullin	Derrick McKey		Etdrick Bohannon
SG	Reggie Miller	Jalen Rose	Fred Hoiberg
PG	Mark Jackson	Travis Best	Haywoode Workman

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–	37–4	25–16	21–7
x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4	32–9	26–15	19–9
x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11	32–9	19–22	16–12
x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12	29–12	21–20	19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15	27–14	20–21	14–14
Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25	25–16	12–29	12–16
Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26	21–20	15–26	9–19
Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46	9–32	7–34	2–26

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15
7	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19
8	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	19
9	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	20
10	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	21
11	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25
12	Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	26
12	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26
14	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	31
15	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

1997–98 Game Log
October: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
November: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
December: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
January: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
February: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
March: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
April: Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record

Playoffs

East First Round

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Pacers and Cavaliers.

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (IND-CLE)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	April 23	Indiana	106	Cleveland	77	1-0	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	1	TNT 8:00et
2	April 25	Indiana	92	Cleveland	86	2-0	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	2	NBC 1:00et
3	April 27	Cleveland	86	Indiana	77	2-1	Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio	3	TNT 7:00et
4	April 30	Cleveland	74	Indiana	80	3-1	Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio	4	TBS 7:00et
Indiana wins series 3–1

East Conference Semifinals

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (7) New York Knicks Last Playoff Meeting: 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Indiana won 4-3)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (IND-NYK)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 5	Indiana	93	New York	83	1-0	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	1	TNT 8:00et
2	May 7	Indiana	85	New York	77	2-0	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	2	TNT 8:00et
3	May 9	New York	83	Indiana	76	2-1	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	3	NBC 1:00et
4	May 10	New York	107	Indiana	118	3-1	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	4	NBC 12:30et
5	May 13	Indiana	99	New York	88	4-1	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	5	TNT 7:00et
Indiana wins series 4–1

East Conference Finals

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Indiana Pacers Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Bulls and Pacers.

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (CHI-IND)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 17	Chicago	85	Indiana	79	1-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	1	NBC 3:30et
2	May 19	Chicago	104	Indiana	98	2-0	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	2	TNT 8:30et
3	May 23	Indiana	107	Chicago	105	2-1	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	3	NBC 3:30et
4	May 25	Indiana	96	Chicago	94	2-2	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	4	NBC 3:30et
5	May 27	Chicago	106	Indiana	87	3-2	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	5	NBC 9:00et
6	May 29	Indiana	92	Chicago	89	3-3	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana	6	NBC 9:00et
7	May 31	Chicago	88	Indiana	83	4-3	United Center, Chicago, Illinois	7	NBC 7:00et
Chicago wins series 4–3

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Season

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Reggie Miller	81	232				1578	19.5
Rik Smits	73	505				1216	16.7
Chris Mullin	82	249				927	11.3
Antonio Davis	82	560				785	9.6
Jalen Rose	82	195				771	9.4
Mark Jackson	82	322				678	8.3
Dale Davis	78	611				626	8.0
Travis Best	82	122				535	6.5
Derrick McKey	57	211				359	6.3
Fred Hoiberg	65	123				261	4.0
Austin Croshere	26	45				76	2.9
Mark West	15	15				23	1.5
Mark Pope	28	26				39	1.4
Etdrick Bohannon	5	6				0	0.0

• Starters in BOLD

Playoffs

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Reggie Miller
Rik Smits
Antonio Davis
Mark Jackson
Chris Mullin
Dale Davis
Jalen Rose
Travis Best
Derrick McKey
Fred Hoiberg
Mark Pope
Mark West

Awards

• Larry Bird, NBA Coach of the Year Award
• Larry Bird, All-Star East Head Coach
• Reggie Miller, NBA All-Star Game
• Rik Smits, NBA All-Star Game
• Reggie Miller, All-NBA Third Team

See also

• 1997–98 NBA season

References

1. 1997-98 Indiana Pacers