The national view of the Indiana Pacers is a lot cooler than the one inside the Indy market.
With the 2026-27 NBA season only two months away, the early forecasts are starting to stack up, and most of them don’t exactly put Indiana in the same tier as the local optimism would suggest. Around the league, the Pacers are being treated more like a middle-of-the-pack East team than a true contender.
Bleacher Report’s record prediction has Indiana going 46-36, which lands them eighth in the outlet’s projected standings. In that forecast, New York, Boston, Miami, Toronto, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Detroit are all expected to finish ahead of the Pacers.
SB Nation’s Detroit Bad Boys lands in a similar spot, slotting Indiana eighth in the Eastern Conference. That prediction has the Hawks, 76ers, Raptors, Celtics, Knicks, Cavaliers, and Pistons all finishing with better records, while Miami, Orlando, and Charlotte trail the Pacers.
There are a couple of notable exceptions to that lukewarm tone. The New York Post was much more bullish, placing Indiana No. 4 in the entire NBA in its “Way-too-early NBA power rankings for 2026-27: Can the Knicks repeat?” piece and No. 2 in the East behind New York.
CBS Sports has also been higher on the Pacers than most. In its Power Rankings, Indiana checks in at No. 5 overall, with only the Knicks and the new-look 76ers ranked ahead of them from the Eastern Conference.
ESPN’s last ranking came in its “Post-Finals NBA Power Rankings,” where the Pacers were No. 11 in the league and No. 5 in the East. That list came before Jaylen Brown and LeBron James joined the 76ers and Giannis joined the Heat.
The betting market paints a similarly cautious picture. Draft Kings Sportsbook has Indiana’s win total at 44.5, with the Pacers listed at 40-1 to win the NBA Championship, 16-1 to win the Eastern Conference, and +400 to win the division. That set of odds gives them the eighth-best chances in the East behind New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, Miami, and Boston.
Polymarket has Indiana with the seventh-highest odds in the East to make the playoffs, placing them seventh overall and behind Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.
Fan Duel Sportsbook is even lower on the Pacers in the conference race, listing them at +1500 to win the East, which puts them ninth in the conference. Orlando, Miami, Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York are all ahead of them there, and Indiana is at +4000 to win the NBA Finals.
Bet MGM is a little more favorable, giving the Pacers +1600 to win the Eastern Conference, which is good for eighth-best odds. That still leaves Indiana behind a long list of East rivals, though Bet MGM does have the Pacers above the Hawks and Magic.
Action Network’s “Current NBA Eastern Conference Champion Odds” list is another reminder of how little faith there is outside of Indiana. The Pacers sit ninth there, and the eyebrow-raising part is that Washington is listed above them at No.
- Once again, Miami, Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York are all ranked higher.
Taken together, the broad message is clear: outside of the New York Post and CBS Sports, most projections have backed away from Indiana. A lot of the industry seems to see the Pacers as a play-in level team with a win total sitting in the mid to low forties.
That skepticism isn’t hard to understand. Tyrese Haliburton’s return from an Achilles injury is a major variable, and the arrival of Ivica Zubac adds another layer of uncertainty. Figuring out how to mesh with a very different kind of big man will take time, and there’s no way to know exactly what Haliburton will look like after missing 16 months.
Still, Indiana already had plenty of motivation after last season’s gap year. With so many outsiders doubting them, the Pacers have even more reason to try to show they belong near the top of the conference.
In Other News...
Pacers Fans Finally Have A New Viewing Option With One Catch
Pacers fans who have been waiting for a clearer local viewing option are finally getting one. Indiana announced a new streaming partnership with DAZN that will put 22 regular-season games and all four preseason games in one place, giving supporters a fresh way to follow the team without relying only on the old familiar channels.
The setup comes with a catch, though, because not every game is moving over. DAZN will launch a Pacers-branded channel in its app in early September, and the package will include several subscription choices, including discounted early bird season passes, but national TV games will still stay with the leagues existing broadcast partners. The deal is reported to run five years, and the 22 free games should soften the blow for fans who have been frustrated by the hunt for local coverage. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton Sees A New Pacers Weapon Fans Havent Really Seen
Tyrese Haliburton is already looking ahead to what the Indiana Pacers could look like next season, and one of the biggest reasons for his optimism is a familiar kind of weapon he has not really had in his time here. He spoke recently about his excitement to share the floor with center Ivica Zubac, whose size and ability around the rim could give Indiana a different kind of pairing in the pick-and-roll.
Zubac arrived in a trade last season, but injury limited him to only five games, so Pacers fans barely got a glimpse of what that fit might look like. Haliburton also offered an update on his own recovery from an Achilles injury, saying he is working his way back and eager to return, which only adds to the intrigue around how the offense might evolve once both players are in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Pressure Is Rising After Clevelands Latest Summer Move
Clevelands latest summer maneuver added another layer to a busy offseason across the East, and it does not help the Pacers margin for error. In a three-team trade, the Clippers got Max Strus, the Nuggets picked up future draft assets, and the Cavaliers landed Peyton Watson, while Washington came away with Tre Mann and a Clippers second-round pick in the deal for Cam Whitmore. Cleveland also plans to waive Whitmore, a reminder that the Cavaliers are still fine-tuning their roster as they keep shaping a group built to stay in the conference race.
For Indiana, the move lands with extra weight because the Pacers are not working with an endless stockpile of trade chips. Their front office has to be careful about when and how it acts, especially with rivals around the conference continuing to patch holes and add depth wherever they can. Each new transaction around Cleveland only sharpens the pressure on Indiana to find the right answer, because in a crowded East, standing still can feel a lot like falling behind. [Read more 🡒]