The Pacers have had a brutal start, and the bad news keeps piling up. Injuries have hit Tyrese Haliburton, TJ McConnell, Aaron Nesmith, Ivica Zubac and others who have missed extended time, and what was supposed to be a soft opening stretch has turned into a 3-7 mess. The schedule is only getting tougher from here, which leaves Indiana fans with plenty to stew over.
But if there’s one emotion that travels even farther than happiness, it’s hate. And on this occasion, the Pacers have at least one target worth directing it at.
Myles Turner, the longtime Pacers big man who left for a division rival, is now giving Indiana a reason to smile in the most spiteful way possible. He was once the face of stability for the franchise, the longest-tenured and most recognizable Pacer on a team that kept changing around him. He saw the end of the Paul George era and eventually the run that ended after a Finals appearance with Tyrese Haliburton.
That history made his decision to jump to the Milwaukee Bucks feel especially strange. The Bucks were the Pacers’ strongest rivalry, and even beyond that, the move looked odd on paper: a worse fit, fewer wins, and a team that was nowhere near contending in the same way Indiana was. The cap situation was messy too, with the Bucks needing to waive Damian Lillard to make the numbers work.
Now, though, Turner’s new situation is looking rough for Milwaukee and pretty satisfying for Indiana. He appears to be one of the worst contracts in the NBA on one of the worst teams in the NBA, and he looks miserable doing it.
So yes, the Pacers’ own season is a wreck. But there is at least one small consolation for Indiana: things could be worse. They could have signed Myles Turner to a big contract extension.
In Other News...
Pacers Injury Crunch Could Force A Rotation Move Soon
Indianas injury pileup has started to reshape the conversation around the roster, and it has pushed outside voices to suggest the Pacers may need to act sooner rather than later. NBA analyst Dan Favale recently floated Ochai Agbaji as a possible addition, pointing to the teams need for another body as it waits on Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac, both of whom are dealing with uncertain return timelines.
Agbaji would not be arriving as a mystery. He has already bounced around this season after being waived twice, and his recent stops with the Raptors and Nets at least give him some familiarity with the grind of filling in on the fly. For Indiana, the question is less about pedigree than timing, because the current stretch could force a rotation move if the injuries linger and the depth chart keeps thinning. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Get A Chance To Answer Dallas After That Ugly Opener
The Pacers get another crack at Dallas after a first meeting that left plenty of bad blood and even more room for improvement. Indiana was handled in the previous matchup, and the game also featured the flagrant foul incident involving Aaron Nesmith and Cooper Flagg, a moment that added edge to a result the Pacers would rather forget. Now the focus shifts to the rematch, with both teams dealing with a mix of injuries and rest decisions that could shape how the night unfolds.
For Indiana, this is less about settling scores than proving the earlier showing was not the standard. The Pacers have had time to sort through what went wrong, and the rematch offers a cleaner chance to measure themselves against a Dallas team that already made a statement once. With availability still in flux on both sides, the game carries the feel of a reset, but it also gives Indiana a chance to show that the opener was an outlier rather than a preview. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Face A Brutal Test As Pressure Starts Mounting
The Pacers are heading into a stretch that already feels like a measuring stick for where this season is going. With the Mavericks and Wizards next on the schedule, Indiana is staring at a pair of games that could either steady a shaky start or deepen the hole it has dug with a 3-7 record.
Dallas brings a difficult challenge, with Kyrie Irving back and scoring well after his injury return, while Cooper Flagg has given the Mavericks a real boost in transition. For Indiana, the urgency is obvious: drop these games, and an already rough opening to the year starts looking a lot harder to recover from. [Read more 🡒]