The Indiana Pacers are getting treated like a team that’s already been pushed to the side, and that feels premature.
Yes, the Eastern Conference has changed fast. The Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Raptors brought Kawhi Leonard back. The 76ers and Celtics shook things up with a blockbuster deal involving Jaylen Brown and Paul George, and Philadelphia also landed LeBron James.
With that kind of movement, the conference has a very different look, and it now feels inevitable that a good team is going to miss the playoffs.
Even with all that noise, the Pacers still look too dangerous to ignore.
Indiana is coming off what amounts to a gap year after Tyrese Haliburton’s injury in the NBA Finals, and that alone has made people forget how good this group has been. The Pacers reached back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals, and in one of those runs they pushed all the way to Game 7 of the Finals. That kind of track record deserves more respect than it’s getting.
A top-three finish in the East might be a stretch, but the idea that Indiana could fall out of the playoff picture altogether doesn’t hold up. They should be in the postseason, and it would be a surprise if they ended up in the Play-In.
Still, the standard for success has to account for how much tougher the conference is now. For Indiana, a good season looks like winning a first-round series and then giving a real fight in the second round. Maybe that doesn’t get them back to the Eastern Conference Finals, but it would keep them squarely in the mix.
One view of that bar is blunt: “After falling in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals there is a massive chip on the Pacers' shoulders. They have assembled a team capable of winning the Eastern Conference and anything short of achieving that will be considered a failure.
However, winning is extremely difficult in this league, and the Pacers have a lot to prove. Haliburton has to show that he can finish a playoff run healthy.
There is still uncertainty if Zubac will fit as well as or equal to Myles Turner. And the role players surrounding the stars will have to continue taking strides to keep up with the new and improved East.
Even if the Pacers don't win the East, another deep playoff run where they lay it all on the line will be successful in my eyes. Anything short of that will be a failure.”
Another perspective sets the regular-season line a little lower, pointing to just how crowded the East has become: "The Eastern Conference is undeniably tougher than it was when the Pacers surprised many with their 2025 Finals run, now with 10 teams that are projected to finish over .500 by most oddsmakers and analysts. The Pacers will likely be one of those but, with few easy nights in the East, it might be deemed a success just to climb into the 45 to 47 win category and squeeze into the playoffs without needing the play-in.
The real question comes in the playoffs, should Indiana qualify; by then, the hope is Haliburton will be back to his full self, and the chemistry with Zubac will come together. A second round appearance is the bar; anything beyond that should be considered a bonus, even if Pacers fans may not see it that way."
That’s the challenge for Indiana now. The East has gotten stronger, the margin for error has shrunk, and the Pacers no longer get to surprise anyone. But if they win a playoff series and make another solid run from there, that’s still a season that counts.
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T.J. McConnell Owns A Rare Stat Pacers Fans Should Appreciate More
T.J. McConnell has long been one of those Pacers players whose value shows up in ways that dont always make the loudest headlines. He has built his reputation in Indiana on energy, pressure defense and the kind of hustle that changes a game without needing a scorekeepers spotlight, which is part of why he has become such a reliable piece for this team heading into the 2026-27 season.
One reminder of just how unusual his game can be came on March 3, 2021, against Cleveland, when McConnell became one of only two active NBA players to post 10 assists and 10 steals in a single game. He also set an NBA record with nine steals in the first half, a sort of all-over-the-floor performance that Pacers fans should probably appreciate more every time he turns a loose ball into a possession the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Just Got A Brutal Reminder About The Easts New Reality
The East just got a fresh jolt of star power, and for Indiana it serves as a sharp reminder of how crowded the path has become. According to Shams Charania, the Clippers have sent Kawhi Leonard to Toronto in a deal that brings back two unprotected first-round picks, Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, a swing that changes the balance of power and deepens the list of teams with real top-end talent in the conference.
For the Pacers, the timing matters because they have built around depth, speed and continuity, but not around a clear top-10 player. That can be a hard sell in a conference where contenders keep adding marquee names and high-end talent, and it leaves Indiana with a familiar question as it looks ahead: how far can a well-constructed roster carry them if the ceiling around them keeps rising? [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton Just Reminded Everyone What The Pacers Still Depend On
Dean Olivers recent argument that Tyrese Haliburton belongs in the conversation as the best player from the 2020 NBA Draft only reinforces how central he has become to everything Indiana wants to do. Since arriving in a 2022 trade, Haliburton has piled up two All-NBA Third Team nods and two All-Star appearances, and the Pacers have already seen how sharply their level drops when he is not on the floor.
Even with a five-year extension signed in 2023, the bigger question now is less about his standing around the league and more about how Indiana manages him going into the new season. The Pacers know what they depend on when Haliburton is running the offense, which is why there is so much attention on whether he will be brought along carefully as the schedule begins. [Read more 🡒]