Andrew Nembhard’s place in the Indiana Pacers’ rotation is already clear. The bigger question is how much more he can squeeze out of it now that Tyrese Haliburton is back.
That’s the central issue heading into the season: Nembhard isn’t just useful, he’s the kind of player who changes how the Pacers can function. When Haliburton was out, Nembhard handled a heavier load and got real reps as the primary ballhandler. Now that Haliburton is healthy again, Nembhard’s value shifts, but it doesn’t shrink.
Saturday’s preseason game against Atlanta showed one version of that. Haliburton sat out with a minor ankle injury, and Nembhard started at point guard while Kelly Oubre Jr. slid in at the wing.
Wednesday against Minnesota was another example, with T.J. McConnell sidelined and Nembhard stepping into the backup point guard role.
He helped ignite a big run by pressuring defensively and pushing the pace.
The Pacers have plenty of reasons to trust him. He’s still viewed as their best on-ball defender, and that means a nightly assignment against the opposing team’s top guard. That’s demanding work, and staying out of foul trouble matters just as much as taking the matchup.
If Nembhard has to sit, the whole structure takes a hit. He’s more than a stopper. He’s part of the wiring that lets Indiana do what it wants to do.
Offensively, the next leap is obvious: he has to become a dependable catch-and-shoot threat from three with Haliburton running the show. In his previous season next to Haliburton, he hit just 29% from deep and finished dead-last among starting shooting guards in three-point percentage. Last season he made progress, though it came on 2.5 more attempts per game.
That’s where the intrigue comes in. Nembhard is already a three-level scorer, so the missing piece isn’t shot-making in general. It’s consistency from the perimeter, especially when defenses load up on Haliburton and leave Nembhard with a less imposing matchup.
There’s another number that matters, too: 57 games. That was Nembhard’s total during the 2025-26 regular season, and availability will matter as much as anything if he’s going to keep building.
The production he put up without Haliburton was the loudest signal yet. Nembhard averaged 16.9 points and 7.7 assists per game, both career highs, while shooting 36.1% from three and 44.2% from the field. Those are real numbers, not a small-sample fluke, and they came while he was seeing more defensive attention, taking twice as many threes per game and getting less help from teammates.
That’s the challenge now. Keeping the efficiency.
Keeping the volume. Keeping the impact when Haliburton returns to the floor.
In theory, the fit should be cleaner. In practice, star returns have a way of pushing good players into the background.
Nembhard doesn’t need to become something else. His defense already plays at starter level.
His offense already makes teams pay when they don’t account for him. The next step is making that package show up night after night, somewhere between the 10.0 points he averaged before and the 16.9 he posted last season.
In Other News...
Tyrese Haliburton Already Has Pacers Fans Worried About One Big Thing
Tyrese Haliburtons night off in Atlanta was enough to stir some unease around the Pacers, even if the bigger picture still looks calm. He sat out Indianas preseason game against the Hawks because of a tweaked ankle, another reminder of how closely this teams fortunes are tied to its star guard after his recovery from the Achilles tear he suffered in the 2024-25 NBA Finals.
For a team built around Haliburtons pace, passing and shot-making, even a minor setback tends to draw attention. The ankle issue is being described as minor, but it arrives at a time when every preseason note about his health carries extra weight for Indiana, and it leaves fans watching closely as the Pacers try to get through October with their most important player staying on track. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Still Have The One Problem Fans Thought Was Fixed
The Pacers second preseason game offered a familiar sort of reminder, even in a tight 119-117 loss to the Hawks. Indiana came out with an early lead, then faded in the third quarter and never quite found its footing again, all while keeping the workload light and not playing anyone more than 20 minutes. For a team trying to use October to smooth out its edges, the result was less important than the way the game unfolded.
Even after bringing in Ivica Zubac to shore up the glass, the rebound battle still looked shaky against Atlanta. Indiana did plenty of things well enough to stay close, but the possession game told the louder story, and that is the part the Pacers cannot afford to ignore for long. Jarace Walker led Indiana with seven rebounds, a small bright spot in a loss that left one of last seasons lingering concerns still hanging around. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton Just Became Indianas Biggest Question Again
Tyrese Haliburton is back in NBA action after missing the previous season with an Achilles tendon injury, and for the Pacers, that alone makes his return one of the most closely watched developments of the fall. Indiana has built plenty of its recent identity around Haliburtons playmaking and pace, which is why every step in his comeback carries extra weight for a team that still views him as a centerpiece. He is under a five-year extension he signed in 2023, and the franchise is still planning around him being a starter for the 2026-27 season.
What makes this next stretch so important is not just whether Haliburton can suit up again, but how quickly he can look like himself after such a serious injury. His first game back offered some encouraging signs, with his passing and defense both standing out, yet the bigger question for Indiana is what comes next as he settles back into live NBA rhythm. For a Pacers team that has invested so much in him, the answer will shape far more than one return appearance. [Read more 🡒]