The Indiana Pacers are headed into a season built around a tricky question: how much speed can they keep, and how much do they have to give up?
For years, Indiana made its identity in transition. The team flew up the floor, hunted fast-break chances and leaned into a relentless style that wore opponents down. Myles Turner filled a key part of that system as a center, especially as a trailer who could stretch the floor for threes, even if his playoff run was rough.
But last year brought a major shift. The Pacers made a huge deadline deal for Ivica Zubac, and that move changes the rhythm of everything.
At a press conference at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Pacers GM Chad Buchanan emphasized the need for a different pace. Zubac is a strong half-court big, one who brings physicality in the post, elite screening, and passing touch that tends to get overlooked. He also helps on the glass, where he’s one of the better rebounders at ending possessions and giving his team another chance.
The problem is obvious enough: his game and Indiana’s old style don’t naturally fit together. Some kind of compromise is coming, because the Pacers now have to reconcile two very different basketball ideas.
Tyrese Halliburton adds another layer to the puzzle. He is returning from an Achilles tear, so the Pacers need to be careful about how much they ask of him.
At the same time, Indiana has rarely looked stable without him steering the offense. If the Pacers want to stay in the mix in a crowded Eastern Conference, they’ll likely need Halliburton to take on more again and get back to the level he once reached.
Zubac, meanwhile, will have to adjust too. The Pacers want him to speed up as a player, while the team itself needs to slow down enough to make the fit work. That middle ground can be useful, but it can also leave a team without a true top gear.
From a value standpoint, the trade was a strong one. Indiana landed a talented player it might not have been able to get in the offseason. Still, the fit questions are real.
Zubac will need to become a much better outlet passer. If he can’t be the one running the break, then he at least has to be the one starting it.
And Indiana will have to make changes of its own. The constant-motion offense that defined the team needs to give way to more pick-and-roll action. Halliburton can handle that, and this would be his first real pairing with a true pick-and-roll threat since his Sacramento days with Richaun Holmes.
There’s still a path for the Pacers to be one of the league’s best this season. But there are also enough small issues in this reshaped roster that they’ll need answers fast.
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