The Pacers are back on the floor tonight, and the opener in New Orleans comes with no shortage of subplots. Indiana meets the Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center, and there’s enough familiar faces, noise and star power here to make this feel bigger than a standard first game.
Tyrese Haliburton is the headliner. It has been 486 days since the Pacers last played a meaningful game with him running the show, and his return gives the night a different charge.
Haliburton’s style is part playmaking, part energy, part lift-the-whole-building. He’s one of the best players in the NBA and, as the source story puts it, arguably the best pure point guard in the league.
His 2025 playoff run is still hanging over everything, and this is the start of the next chapter after that heartbreaking finish.
The road setting adds another layer. When the schedule came out, Haliburton took issue with being sent back into action away from home against one of the league’s smallest markets.
A clip from his appearance on the Numbers on the Board podcast went viral, and it rubbed Pelicans fans the wrong way. He should expect boos, but that’s hardly new territory for him.
The source reporting says hostile environments tend to bring out his best.
There’s also a clear matchup edge inside. The Pelicans don’t have a big man built to handle Ivica Zubac’s size, and the numbers back that up.
Over the last two seasons, Zubac has punished New Orleans in four games, averaging 17.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 blocks while shooting 72.5% from the field and taking only 10 shots a night. He has started to settle into Indiana’s system, and the chemistry with Haliburton has shown up in the last two preseason games.
The screening game has created cleaner looks for Haliburton, and when defenses collapse, Zubac has been the release valve.
After the preseason finale against Milwaukee, Haliburton said they’re slowly adding more sets into the offensee. That makes this opener worth watching on another level, because it should reveal how Rick Carlisle and his staff continue shaping the attack around Zubac’s skill set.
Bennedict Mathurin gives the game a personal edge. The former Indiana lottery pick is facing the team that traded him away in the deal that brought in Zubac.
Mathurin never fully put it all together in Indiana, but he was a major part of the Pacers’ NBA Finals run and was popular in the locker room. He remains a tough scorer who can get points at all three levels, draw fouls and attack the rim.
When asked after practice Monday what it would be like to face his former team on opening night, Mathurin didn’t give the media much to work with. With no expression on his face, he said, "this is just another game for me". Still, the source suggests there will be plenty of edge once he shares the floor with Andrew Nembhard.
Last season, when the Pacers saw Mathurin twice after the trade, he put up 20 points per game on 52.6% shooting from the field and 33.3% from three. He also made 18 of 22 free throws and averaged 6.5 rebounds per game.
Mathurin’s role in New Orleans is similar to the one he had in Indiana, and he’ll be going up against familiar faces on the second unit. The Pacers’ bench wings are Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, both players Mathurin knows well from years of going against them in practice. That matchup within the matchup adds another reason to keep an eye on the opener from start to finish.
In Other News...
Pacers Open The Season With A Problem They Didn't Want
The Pacers head into their season opener already having to reshuffle the rotation, and the timing could not be much worse. Aaron Nesmith has been ruled out with a left hamstring strain, leaving Indiana without its starting small forward as it tries to get the new season moving in the right direction. His absence hands Kelly Oubre Jr. a chance to step into the lineup, while the injury also nudges the coaching staff toward more minutes for the wing depth behind him.
There is more uncertainty in the backcourt, too, with T.J. McConnell still sidelined by a right hamstring strain. For a team that leans on pace, pressure and energy, losing two rotation pieces before the first game is a frustrating start, especially when the bench is supposed to help stabilize things early. Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard are among the players who could be asked to pick up some of the slack, and the opening stretch now comes with an immediate test of Indiana's depth. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Trade Buzz Hints At A Bigger Plan Around Haliburton
The Pacers offseason chatter has started to sharpen around the idea that the front office is looking for more than just a bounce-back year. Bleacher Reports Dan Favale recently named three possible trade targets for Indiana in Yves Missi, Jaylin Williams and Jordan Walsh, a list that points to the kind of roster-building decisions the team may be weighing as it tries to keep pace in a crowded East.
A healthy Tyrese Haliburton changes the conversation almost immediately. Indiana is expected to take a step forward with Haliburton back from injury, and the projections reflect a team that could win a lot of games if the supporting cast fits properly around him. Haliburton already signed his five-year extension in 2023, so the long-term plan is clear enough - now the interesting part is whether the Pacers use trade talks to accelerate it. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Suddenly Face A T.J. McConnell Concern They Can't Ignore
T.J. McConnells availability has suddenly become an early Pacers concern, with the veteran guard expected to miss the first game of the season because of a hamstring strain. For a team that leans on his pace, energy and steadying presence, the timing is hard to ignore, especially with the regular season just getting underway and the point guard room looking thinner than usual.
McConnells value has always come from the same relentless style that has helped him last this long, even as he enters his mid-30s and continues to battle the wear that comes with playing that way. The bigger question now is not just how long he sits, but what Indiana does if this becomes more than a short-term issue, because there isnt a clear like-for-like answer waiting behind him. [Read more 🡒]