The Pacers’ first real measuring stick against Philadelphia won’t arrive when either team is ready to show its full hand, and that’s the frustrating part.
Because of the NBA’s schedule setup, Indiana and the 76ers will see all of their meetings packed into a three-week stretch early in the season, with the final one coming on November 27th. That timing blunts the value of the matchup. Good-on-good basketball is always worth watching, but it means more later, when seeding races and head-to-head tiebreakers start to matter.
Instead, these games are set to land while both teams are still figuring themselves out.
Philadelphia enters the year trying to sort through a crowded, high-usage roster. The Sixers are bringing in two new starters with massive usage rates, plus several rotation pieces with real roles to absorb.
They’ve got too many mouths to feed and too many points to sort out. Between LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, Philly has two players with over a 30% usage rate to fit alongside Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey.
The most likely outcome is that Embiid slides into more of a spot-up shooter and rim protector role, ceding some of the offensive burden in an effort to keep him healthy across the season. Edgecombe and Brown would also be asked to take a step back, while LeBron and Maxey look like the two best bets on that roster to bring the whole thing together.
Indiana’s situation is different, but just as unsettled.
The Pacers are coming off an injury-ravaged 2025-26 season that kept getting worse. Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles tendon, their starting small forward played only 45 games, their power forward was hurt, and the star center they acquired appeared in just five games.
Now the questions are less about fitting in a pile of new names and more about whether the key pieces can get back to where Indiana needs them.
Haliburton is the biggest one. He’s the engine of the Pacers’ offense, and if he isn’t close to full strength, the team’s outlook - and maybe this stretch of Pacers basketball - is in real trouble. Indiana has to walk a fine line between easing him back into organized basketball and demanding enough from him to get him back to the level they need.
That’s a tough ask under any circumstances, and even more so with the season still about six weeks away. It has been more than ten times that long since Haliburton last played.
Then there’s Ivica Zubac. Indiana’s move to acquire the Croatian center from the Los Angeles Clippers keeps looking better, but his fit with the Pacers’ up-tempo style still raises questions. Zubac is the best center moved in the last 12 months, but making him work may require Indiana to lean harder into pick-and-roll and post-up possessions.
The real issue is whether they can do that without giving up what makes them the Pacers.
In Other News...
Pacers Gamble On From Myles Turner Looks Smarter Than Ever
When Indiana let Myles Turner walk, it was a franchise-shaping decision, the kind that invites immediate second-guessing. Turner landed with the Bucks on a four-year deal worth $108.9 million, while the Pacers moved on by trading for Ivica Zubac and positioning themselves for the 2026-27 season with bigger goals in mind. It was a clear bet on reshaping the roster rather than trying to keep the old core intact.
Early signs have only added to the debate, because Turners first season in Milwaukee produced his lowest statistical averages since his rookie year. For Indiana, that doesnt automatically make the choice look right or wrong, but it does sharpen the context around what comes next. The Pacers wanted flexibility and a path toward a title run, and now the question is whether the pivot away from Turner ends up being the move that gives them the ceiling they were chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans Can Already See Milwaukees Myles Turner Problem
Myles Turners exit from Indianapolis was always going to linger, but the timing has made the comparison even easier for Pacers fans to spot. Indiana moved on from its longest-tenured player by turning to Ivica Zubac on a more favorable contract, while Turner landed in Milwaukee carrying the kind of deal that tends to invite scrutiny the moment the results wobble.
For the Pacers, the bigger takeaway is not just that they replaced Turner, but that they did it without inheriting the same financial baggage. Turner still brings shot-blocking and a recognizable skill set, but the questions around his overall defensive impact and efficiency have followed him into Bucks conversations, and that makes his contract look even heavier from a distance. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Zubac Trade Suddenly Looks Different Than Fans Remember
When the Pacers struck the deal for Ivica Zubac, the trade package looked as steep as any recent move in the league. Indiana sent out multiple assets, including two first-round picks and players Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson, in a swap that was meant to reshape the frontcourt and give the Clippers a major return. The transaction was already going to be judged on whether Zubac could justify the price, and now the way the deal is remembered has shifted again.
A guilty verdict against the Clippers in a cap circumvention scandal changed the optics even more, costing Indiana a 2029 draft pick tied to the trade. It does not alter the actual pieces exchanged between the teams, but it does leave the Clippers' return to the Pacers reduced to Keaton Wagler in the aftermath. For Indiana, the broader question remains the same: whether the on-court value of Zubac can still make a deal this expensive feel worthwhile. [Read more 🡒]