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.