The Indiana Pacers got a useful preseason look on Wednesday night, and the takeaway went beyond the 123-112 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. For Indiana, the game offered a clean snapshot of what this roster can do when its defense is allowed to dictate terms up front.
It also marked the first game in a very long time for Tyrese Haliburton, and a shorter - but still long - time for Aaron Nesmith.
Minnesota made for a revealing opponent because the Timberwolves share some structural DNA with the Pacers. Both teams want to get out in transition, powered by a point guard who can steer the whole operation.
Both want to launch plenty of threes, especially through wings who can create space and get shots off quickly. And both lean on a mix of rangy combo forwards and bigger, slower centers who often get overlooked around the league.
That’s what made Indiana’s control of the frontcourt stand out. Behind Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac, the Pacers were able to dominate, while Minnesota’s three front-court players were largely ineffective.
If that becomes a consistent feature of Indiana’s identity, the Pacers could end up with one of the league’s most dangerous playoff profiles.
The broader point is simple: shutting down forwards matters. In the East, there aren’t many contenders built primarily around guard play. The source of offense is often in the frontcourt, and Indiana’s ability to smother that kind of attack could shape how far this team goes.
The teams mentioned in that category include the champion New York Knicks, who run through Jalen Brunson; the Detroit Pistons, who rely on Cade Cunningham for everything; and even the Philadelphia 76ers, who play through Tyrese Maxey despite their star-heavy roster. But the teams that want to matter in the conference also lean heavily on their forwards, which is why the Pacers’ showing against Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga, Rudy Gobert, and Joan Beringer stood out.
All four were held in check, with Indiana controlling the paint for the full game even against a strong rim protector and a capable help-side shot-blocker.
That said, the Pacers still have work to do if they want this to hold up night after night. Their defensive foundation is solid, but they do not have a true specialist who can simply latch onto a star and erase him.
Instead, Indiana is banking on a collection of smart defenders and a rebounding approach that finishes possessions. That kind of structure can make life miserable for forwards and bigs, especially the ones who need clean setups and manufactured touches.
The challenge, of course, is that the Pacers will still run into those guard-driven teams. Whether they add that missing defensive specialist in a trade or find that Nesmith can handle the job himself, that part of the puzzle still has to be solved.
In Other News...
Tyrese Haliburtons Return Just Hit An Early Pacers Concern
Tyrese Haliburtons long-awaited return to NBA preseason action had the look of an important checkpoint for the Pacers, especially after he had been sidelined for nearly 16 months. The excitement in Indianapolis was easy to understand, with Haliburton back on the floor and the team trying to ease him into game action as it builds toward the regular season.
But the first step back came with a scare when Haliburton picked up a mild right ankle injury, enough for Rick Carlisle to rule him out of the upcoming preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. The encouraging part for Indiana is that MRI results did not show any serious issue, including anything involving the Achilles, and the team is hoping he can get back to practice Monday and move toward playing again soon. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Get An Early Test Of The Identity That Fueled Them
The preseason matchup with Atlanta offers Indiana a first look at the style that carried it, and the kind of opponent likely to challenge it early. Both teams want to play fast and create offense in transition, but the Pacers are also sorting through roster changes that could reshape how they get there, including the addition of center Ivica Zubac.
Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Young remain the obvious headliners, a pair of playmakers who can turn a loose possession into a track meet in a hurry. The Hawks also have reworked their perimeter mix, giving this game some extra defensive intrigue around how Indiana handles pressure on the outside and whether its usual pace can hold up against a group built to make life harder on the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Haliburton And Zubac Could Decide Indianas New Offensive Ceiling
Tyrese Haliburton is back in Indiana after spending the better part of two years rehabbing an Achilles tear, and his return changes the Pacers offensive conversation immediately. In the meantime, the roster around him has shifted too, with Myles Turner gone and Ivica Zubac now in the fold, giving Indiana a very different kind of frontcourt partner to pair with its point guard.
What makes that fit so interesting is that it is not just about talent, but about whether the two can meet in the middle stylistically. Haliburton has long been at his best when the ball is moving and the floor is open, while Zubac brings a more traditional interior presence, and Indianas next offensive jump may depend on how smoothly those instincts mesh once the games start to matter again. [Read more 🡒]