Talk about a whirlwind of emotions for the Indiana Pacers.
This was not a good team at the start of 2024-25. Tyrese Haliburton seemed limited physically, Andrew Nembhard was injured and Aaron Nesmith followed soon after. Isaiah Jackson was lost for the season. There was a stretch of play when the Pacers looked completely disinterested in defense.
Just in time, Haliburton found his groove. Nembhard and Nesmith returned from injury, which propped up the defense. As we saw in the postseason, they also provided timely shot-making. With new found momentum, they propelled themselves to the fourth seed and home-court advantage against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Nobody saw one of the most mesmerizing NBA Finals runs in league history coming. Then, they were on the verge of toppling a 68-win team to win it all. In one moment, everything changed. Haliburton ruptured his Achilles and the series and, effectively, 2025-26 was lost. Myles Turner shockingly departed in free agency in favor of those rival Bucks.
Time and time again, we were ready to write the Pacers off in playoff games? Do we dare write them off for 2025-26?
Offensive Review
When Haliburton is their engine, the Pacers have been one of the NBA’s best pace-and-space teams. Pascal Siakam has added a necessary release valve in the half-court. Turner used to help maximize Haliburton’s passing as a big who could trail the play and knock down outside shots.
Not having Haliburton and Turner leaves a lot of question marks for the Pacers’ offense. Nembhard will have to show he can thrive in a full-time starting guard role. Bennedict Mathurin is going to have to make a leap with his consistency and defensive execution. Jackson and Jay Huff will have to combine for at least a serviceable time-share at center.
How much can Indiana lean on Siakam as the No. 1 offensive option? It’s a return to the role he held his final few years with the Toronto Raptors, so it may well come down to how effectively the Pacers can space the floor around him.
Turner (5.5) and Haliburton (7.7) averaged a combined 13.2 attempts from deep per game last season. They each also shot north of 38 percent on those attempts. It’s going to take a group effort to try and mitigate that loss. Nembhard is a better shooter than his regular season percentage (33.5) suggests — he’s a career 47.3 percent outside shooter in the playoffs — while Nesmith should have an elevated offensive role. Ben Sheppard is another who may look to hoist more threes.
Still, it looks as though the Pacers will be hard-pressed to maintain a top-10 offense next season. If head coach Rick Carlisle can find creative ways to maintain the flow of this offense, it’ll be a major feather in his illustrious cap.
Defensive Review
Nembhard is a defensive upgrade over Haliburton in the starting point guard role. There’ll be a debate between Jackson and Huff for the starting center position, with both offering their own strengths and shortcomings.
As we saw in the playoffs, Indiana’s defense thrives when it can apply a ton of ball pressure to create turnovers and maintain a fast pace. With a blow to its depth, can it really maintain that intensity over the course of an 82-game season?
The Pacers were the league’s best team in limiting transition volume last season. Not giving away easy baskets is surefire way to prop up your defense. If they can repeat the trick, they give themselves another chance to be a solid defense. Throw in Nembhard and Sheppard consistently badgering opponents at the point of attack and the half-court defense should benefit as well.
Indiana Pacers’ Overall Outlook
This team deserves its due respect for the immense depth and resiliency it showcased during the playoffs. There is every reason to believe the Pacers will enter 2025-26 intent on showing they’ll fight the good fight.
For all the effort and intensity they can bring, though, losing their best player, as well as a top-eight starting center, is a hammer blow.
Looking at the schedule, Indiana will be tested early. Thirteen of the first 20 opponents project as plus-.500 teams next season. If things don’t start out hot, the Pacers may be tempted to take advantage of a gap year before Haliburton returns for 2026-27.
A lot will have to go right for them to be a top-six seed. Nembhard and Mathurin must both exceed expectations and possibly Huff, too.
If the Pacers are better than .500, it also likely means Siakam has had an All-NBA season. He’s proven capable of that.
The most plausible scenario here is this team hovers around the bottom end of the Play-In Tournament as a No. 9 or 10 seed.
