Indiana’s first look at the Tyrese Haliburton-Ivica Zubac pairing is coming soon, and the early projection on the new center is solid, if not exactly eye-popping.
With training camp approaching, the Pacers are trying to put last season’s 19-63 finish behind them and get back to the level that carried them to the NBA Finals two years ago. Haliburton was the engine of that run, and after the team pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 of the Finals before he went down with a torn Achilles, his return has become the big storyline. He’s set to be back in the season opener on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans.
But Haliburton won’t be the only fresh face drawing attention. Fans will also get their first chance to see Zubac alongside the star point guard after Indiana’s aggressive deadline move to land him from the Los Angeles Clippers in a blockbuster trade last season. Kevin Pritchard and the front office made the move hoping Zubac could help push the Pacers over the top and deliver the franchise its first NBA championship.
Zubac’s numbers last season give Indiana a pretty clear idea of what it’s getting. In 48 total games, including five with the Pacers, he averaged 14.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. The year before in Los Angeles, he put up 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game.
RotoWire’s projection for 2026-27 lands in the middle ground: 14.5 points, 11 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and a block per game. That’s not a disappointing forecast, but it doesn’t suggest a massive leap either.
For Indiana, those numbers would work. Still, there’s obvious appeal in getting Zubac closer to the 16-point range he hit two seasons ago with the Clippers.
One area the Pacers are watching closely is his shooting. Zubac has been working on that part of his game since arriving in Indiana, and while the team doesn’t need him launching a bunch of threes, any reliable touch from the perimeter would matter. That kind of spacing helped make Myles Turner such a useful fit next to Haliburton, and the Pacers know it could be important again.
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Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard are part of the broader backdrop here, reminders of how difficult these recoveries can be and how many variables still sit between an injury and a full return. The Pacers can only control the rest of their roster, and that makes the bench a major swing factor entering camp, with deeper reserves potentially asked to do more if the team wants to weather whatever version of Haliburton it gets early on. [Read more 🡒]