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	Lost to Chicago Bulls in Eastern Conference Finals (3-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Midwest, WTTV
Radio	WIBC

The 1997–98 Indiana Pacers season was Indiana's 22nd season in the NBA and 31st season as a franchise.^[1] It was Larry Bird's first year as head coach. During the offseason, the Pacers acquired All-Star forward Chris Mullin from the Golden State Warriors. The Pacers struggled early in the season losing five of their first seven games, but went on to win 15 of their next 18 games and returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence finishing second in the Central Division with a 58–24 record. 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. In the postseason, the Pacers would defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 3–1 in the first round, then defeat the 7th-seeded New York Knicks 4–1 in the semifinals. However, in the Eastern Conference Finals they would lose 4–3 to the Chicago Bulls in a hard fought series.

For the season, the team sported new pinstripe uniforms, which would remain in use until 2005.

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA Draft

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)
1.0 !PG	4	USA !	Best, Travis	7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	Georgia Tech
4.5 !PF	21	USA !	Bohannon, Etdrick	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Auburn Montgomery
3.0 !SF	44	USA !	Croshere, Austin	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Providence
4.5 !PF	33	USA !	Davis, Antonio	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Texas–El Paso
4.5 !PF	32	USA !	Davis, Dale	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Clemson
2.0 !SG	20	USA !	Hoiberg, Fred	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Iowa State
1.0 !PG	13	USA !	Jackson, Mark	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	St. John's
3.0 !SF	9	USA !	McKey, Derrick	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Alabama
2.0 !SG	31	USA !	Miller, Reggie	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	UCLA
3.0 !SF	17	USA !	Mullin, Chris	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	St. John's
4.5 !PF	43	USA !	Pope, Mark	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Kentucky
3.0 !SF	5	USA !	Rose, Jalen	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Michigan
6.0 !C	45	NED !	Smits, Rik	7000223520000000000♠7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Marist
6.0 !C	41	USA !	West, Mark	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Old Dominion
1.0 !PG	3	USA !	Workman, Haywoode	7000187960000000000♠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

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

1997–98 Game Log

October:

November:

December:

January:

February:

March:

April:

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	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

References

↑ 1997-98 Indiana Pacers

1997–98 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

Indiana Pacers

Founded in 1967 Based in Indianapolis, Indiana

Franchise	Franchise Team history ABA–NBA merger All-time roster Draft history Seasons Head coaches Current season

Arenas	Indiana State Fair Coliseum Market Square Arena Bankers Life Fieldhouse

General managers	Storen Weissert Leonard Vertlieb Salyers Walsh Kahn Morway Pritchard

D-League affiliate	Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Administration	Herb Simon (Owner, Chairman and CEO) Larry Bird (President) Kevin Pritchard (GM) Nate McMillan (Head coach)

Retired numbers	30 31 34 35 529 (in honor of Leonard's total wins as Pacers coach)

ABA Finals appearances	1969 1970 1972 1973 1975

NBA Finals appearances	2000

Culture and lore	Pacers–Pistons brawl The Knick-Killer Dancing Harry Boomer

Rivals	New York Knicks

Media	TV Fox Sports Indiana Radio WFNI-AM Announcers Chris Denari Quinn Buckner Clark Kellogg Brooke Olzendam Mark Boyle Bob "Slick" Leonard

Indiana Pacers seasons

1960s

1967–68

1968–69

1970s

1969–70

1970–71

1971–72

1972–73

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Bold indicates ABA Championship victory

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1997–98 Indiana Pacers season

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Depth chart

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

East First Round

East Conference Semifinals

East Conference Finals

Player stats

Season

Playoffs

Awards

See also

References