The Pacers did not trade for Ivica Zubac just to add another big body. They moved for a big man they believed was already good enough to matter, even if it meant parting with a first-round pick in a gap year and accepting the risk that came with it.
Preseason has only sharpened that idea. Indiana appears set on making Zubac a real feature of the offense, and that is a different kind of frontcourt vision than this franchise has typically embraced.
The emphasis is not just on rim pressure in the abstract. It is on true post scoring.
Pascal Siakam brings his own damage in the paint, but his game lives more in the mid-post and around the elbow, where he can attack off the catch and finish at the rim. Zubac is built for something else entirely. He wants to get as deep as he can, burying defenders underneath the basket and turning that positioning into layups and dunks.
That kind of offense does not happen by accident. It needs setup, and it asks the Pacers to work on a type of possession they have not really had to build around in this era. Tyrese Haliburton figures to be the main engine for those chances, and the source material notes that he has not played with a low-post big since his time with Richaun Holmes on the Sacramento Kings.
Through a handful of exhibition games, the outline has started to come into focus. Indiana wants Zubac involved heavily as a target on dump-offs, a way to make use of his size and give the offense an easy release valve near the rim.
That matters because the simplest shots usually carry the biggest value. Free throws and layups are the two that get prioritized most, even if the first one is not really “free” for a lot of players. Zubac sits at around 70% from the line, which makes the point-at-the-rim finish the far better outcome on a per-touch basis.
If Indiana can feed him those easy looks, it keeps him engaged and forces help defenders to collapse inside. That, in turn, opens the floor even more for the Pacers’ three-point shooting.
The post touches will not come as naturally as the dump-offs. They will require more patience and more deliberate work to get Zubac established, even if it takes six to eight seconds to do it. But the payoff is there, and those back-to-the-basket chances are described as shockingly efficient at producing baskets.
It is also a style of play that has become increasingly rare. Post-scoring big men are fading, and the common explanation is the rise of analytics that made back-to-the-basket offense seem less useful. But the bigger lesson is simpler: a player who can only do one thing usually does not help enough over the course of a game.
In Other News...
Tyrese Haliburton Already Has Pacers Fans Worried About One Big Thing
Tyrese Haliburtons night off in Atlanta was enough to stir some unease around the Pacers, even if the bigger picture still looks calm. He sat out Indianas preseason game against the Hawks because of a tweaked ankle, another reminder of how closely this teams fortunes are tied to its star guard after his recovery from the Achilles tear he suffered in the 2024-25 NBA Finals.
For a team built around Haliburtons pace, passing and shot-making, even a minor setback tends to draw attention. The ankle issue is being described as minor, but it arrives at a time when every preseason note about his health carries extra weight for Indiana, and it leaves fans watching closely as the Pacers try to get through October with their most important player staying on track. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Still Have The One Problem Fans Thought Was Fixed
The Pacers second preseason game offered a familiar sort of reminder, even in a tight 119-117 loss to the Hawks. Indiana came out with an early lead, then faded in the third quarter and never quite found its footing again, all while keeping the workload light and not playing anyone more than 20 minutes. For a team trying to use October to smooth out its edges, the result was less important than the way the game unfolded.
Even after bringing in Ivica Zubac to shore up the glass, the rebound battle still looked shaky against Atlanta. Indiana did plenty of things well enough to stay close, but the possession game told the louder story, and that is the part the Pacers cannot afford to ignore for long. Jarace Walker led Indiana with seven rebounds, a small bright spot in a loss that left one of last seasons lingering concerns still hanging around. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton Just Became Indianas Biggest Question Again
Tyrese Haliburton is back in NBA action after missing the previous season with an Achilles tendon injury, and for the Pacers, that alone makes his return one of the most closely watched developments of the fall. Indiana has built plenty of its recent identity around Haliburtons playmaking and pace, which is why every step in his comeback carries extra weight for a team that still views him as a centerpiece. He is under a five-year extension he signed in 2023, and the franchise is still planning around him being a starter for the 2026-27 season.
What makes this next stretch so important is not just whether Haliburton can suit up again, but how quickly he can look like himself after such a serious injury. His first game back offered some encouraging signs, with his passing and defense both standing out, yet the bigger question for Indiana is what comes next as he settles back into live NBA rhythm. For a Pacers team that has invested so much in him, the answer will shape far more than one return appearance. [Read more 🡒]