The Pacers open their NBA Cup run Friday night against a Heat team that just snapped its ugly 0-4 start with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans. For Indiana, it’s another demanding checkpoint in a season that has already asked plenty of this group.
Miami enters with a new wrinkle in the mix in the recently acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo, a name the Pacers know well from his Bucks days. Back then, the two teams had a reputation for playing every meeting like it was a collision. That history is part of what gives this one some bite, even if the NBA Cup has often been treated as more of a sideshow than a centerpiece.
Still, it matters. And for a Pacers team that has already had to endure a miserable 2025-26 season, there’s something appealing about the idea of another run at the Cup after reaching the title game in its first year.
The bigger issue for Indiana is simpler: this is a chance to get a win while shorthanded, and the Pacers need it. They’re playing without Tyrese Haliburton, Ivica Zubac, and TJ McConnell, and a recent stretch of poor performances has only sharpened the pressure around a team trying to stay afloat.
On paper, the matchup offers an opening. Miami has a strong top two but not much behind it, which should give the Pacers a chance to take advantage if they can impose their will.
That’s the kind of game Indiana has to cash in on if it wants to prove it can beat a team that doesn’t line up well against it. If not, the warning lights should be flashing at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
What this game really measures, though, is endurance in the broader sense. Not just legs and lungs, but the mental grind that comes with reshaping a team on the fly.
Basketball players are built to run. The harder part is adapting when the roles shift and the usual answers disappear.
That’s been the challenge for Indiana without Haliburton. The Pacers can still get up and down the floor, but the mental load has changed.
Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam have had to do more creation work. Aaron Nesmith has to knock down shots to keep the floor spaced the way Haliburton once helped maintain.
The absences don’t stop there. Jay Huff has been asked to fill in for Zubac, who is clearly the more complete player, while Quenton Jackson has been doing his best to hold down McConnell’s role.
Those are not small adjustments. Each of those players is being pushed into a job that asks for more than instinct and habit. Friday night against the Heat will show whether Indiana can make those changes work when it counts.
In Other News...
Pacers Fans Just Got An Important Sign On T.J. McConnell
The Pacers got a useful bit of injury-news movement this week when T.J. McConnell and Johnny Furphy were assigned to the Noblesville Boom for on-floor work as both continue their recoveries. For Indiana, the McConnell piece is the one that matters most in the short term, because the veteran guard has been working back from a strained right hamstring and is now moving through tests as he tries to get closer to game action.
Furphys assignment is part of a longer rehab path after his ACL tear, and he has been cleared for limited live play as he eases back into basketball activity. With Indiana already navigating a pileup of injuries, McConnells progress is the development Pacers fans will be watching most closely, since his return would give the rotation a needed stabilizer in the backcourt. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Already Face A Familiar Problem With Key Players Out
The Pacers were already thin before tipoff against Miami, and the absence of Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin left them with just 11 available players for a night that quickly turned into a track meet they could not control. Indiana still found offense, with Andrew Nembhard helping keep the pressure on, but the bigger issue was on the other end, where the Heat kept finding clean looks and never let the game settle into the Pacers preferred pace.
A 145-125 loss is the kind of result that can happen when a short-handed roster is forced to chase all night, and Indianas fourth defeat of the season came with a familiar warning sign attached. Miami shot nearly 60 percent from the field and went 18-for-40 from three, exposing how much the Pacers are asking of the players who are available while they wait for the injured group to return. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Face A Tough Test As Heat Finally Find Some Rhythm
Miami has finally shown a little traction after stumbling out to an 0-4 start, and now the Heat get a chance to build on that by hosting an Indiana team trying to steady itself after back-to-back losses. The Pacers opened 2-1, but the early momentum has cooled, and this trip gives them a chance to see whether their fast start was the beginning of something or just a good week in a long season.
For Indiana, the challenge is less about the standings than the matchup itself, because Miami is starting to look more like a team that can make life difficult at home. The Heat will be aiming for a second straight win, while the Pacers are trying to avoid letting a promising start slip into an early skid. [Read more 🡒]