Instead, he and his teammates feel like they're on a mission to show last season's trip to the Eastern Conference finals was no fluke. In fact, they believe they can make an even deeper run this year.

It’s not because the Indiana Pacers won 50 games for the first time since 2013-14 or will host Game 1 of a playoff series for the first time since that season, or even that he’s making consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in his career.

Indiana will have home-court advantage in the playoffs for the first time since 2014 after winning 50 games and earning the fourth seed. The Pacers finished the regular season 29-11 at home, where they were also 6-0 over the first two rounds of last season’s playoffs.

The Milwaukee Bucks won the season series and have the greater postseason experience, but the Indiana Pacers hold the home-court advantage when the Central Division rivals tip off an Eastern Conference first-round best-of-seven playoff series Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.