The Indiana Pacers’ starting group has only logged 17 possessions together, but Bleacher Report still handed it a B grade. That’s a fair snapshot of a lineup that has flashed enough to look promising, even if the sample is tiny.
When that five-man unit has been on the floor, the results have been solid. Indiana’s starting lineup owns a plus-6.9 net rating, and the Pacers even beat the New Orleans Pelicans on opening night with that group in action. The problem is simple: the Pacers haven’t been able to keep it together long enough to build anything real.
They last had that full lineup in Game 3, before Ivica Zubac went down against the Brooklyn Nets. Tyrese Haliburton has been out since Game 4 with a hamstring injury, and the Pacers are now waiting on both players to get healthy again.
Haliburton has a left hamstring strain and is expected to miss around two weeks. The All-Star point guard also missed the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from the Achilles tendon tear he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Before the injury, Haliburton was putting up 21.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game this season while shooting 51.6% from the field, 37.0% from deep and 86.7% at the line. The two-time All-Star signed a five-year, $244 million extension with Indiana in July 2023 after the team acquired him from the Sacramento Kings in 2022.
He was coming off a strong 2024-25 season as well, when he averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game and earned All-NBA Third Team honors.
Without him, Indiana has stumbled to a 2-6 start, and the pattern looks familiar. The Pacers have had a hard time winning games when Haliburton isn’t available.
Zubac’s absence only makes the situation worse. He is out with a left ankle injury, and his stint in Indiana has already been rough. The big man played just five games with the Pacers last season and has appeared in only three games this season.
This year, Zubac is averaging 9.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 60.0% from the field and 50.0% from the foul line.
The bigger sting came on Mother’s Day during the draft lottery, when Indiana lost its first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft because of the Zubac trade with the LA Clippers last season. The Pacers needed to land in the top four to keep the pick after sending it out with protections. The deal also sent two more first-rounders to the Clippers: one in 2029 and either this year’s first if it fell outside the top four or a 2031 unprotected first-rounder if it did not.
That’s why the what-ifs are so loud right now. Indiana could have drafted AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson. Instead, the Pacers are left hoping Zubac can play like an All-Star this season.
For now, there’s no timetable for when Zubac or Haliburton will be back.
In Other News...
Pacers Suddenly Have More Riding On Noblesville Than Fans Realize
The Noblesville Boom are about to open their season, and for the Pacers, that means more than just a G League schedule getting underway. With injury issues already testing Indianas depth, the affiliate in Noblesville is becoming an even more important part of the organizations day-to-day planning, especially for players on two-way deals who may bounce between the two rosters all year.
Jalen Slawson, Kobe Brown and Braden Smith are among the names expected to spend most of their time with the Boom while still making occasional appearances for Indiana. For a Pacers team trying to stay afloat now while also building for what comes next, the G League program is no longer just a developmental side note. It is becoming a real pipeline, and what happens in Noblesville could matter more than fans might realize. [Read more 🡒]
Jarace Walker Is Becoming A Real Pacers Rotation Question
Jarace Walker has moved into a tricky spot for the Pacers, because the team needs dependable minutes from its role players and he has started to look more like a real part of the answer than a developmental afterthought. The 23-year-old forward is giving Indiana 7.2 points and 6.3 rebounds a night, and the rebounding progress has been noticeable enough to keep him in the conversation as the season wears on.
The concern is that his overall production still comes with uneven stretches, and his shooting numbers are sitting at career lows. For a Pacers team leaning on depth in a difficult year, that kind of inconsistency makes Walker's place in the rotation feel less secure than it should be, especially with expectations around his growth only getting sharper from here. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Nesmith Is Becoming Crucial To Pacers Again
Aaron Nesmith is starting to look like one of the Pacers most important pieces again, and that matters for a team that leans on spacing, pace and versatility. Known for his shooting and defense, he has long fit the mold of the modern role player Indiana needs around its core, and his recent clutch three-pointer in a win over Memphis was another reminder of how quickly he can swing a game without dominating the ball.
The bigger question has been whether he can keep building on that after working back from a hamstring injury. For Indiana, having Nesmith available and effective changes the way the rotation functions on both ends, especially when the margins get tight and every reliable wing matters. [Read more 🡒]