INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers have put together a roster with real championship ambitions, but that doesn’t mean the road into this season is free of worry. With Tyrese Haliburton healthy again, Ivica Zubac in the middle and Pascal Siakam settled into his role, Indiana has plenty of reasons to believe it can shape the East race in May. Even so, a few lingering issues are still hanging over the team as the 82-game grind begins.
The cleanest place to start is the backup center spot, because that job never really settled during the preseason. Indiana was linked all offseason to adding a reserve big behind Zubac after waiving Micah Potter and keeping Jay Huff on the roster.
Thomas Bryant was the name most often mentioned, but he quickly signed a new deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers then moved to veteran Larry Nance Jr., who played with Bryant in Cleveland last season, though that signing didn’t come until 8 days after free agency opened.
Rick Carlisle still never locked into one answer in exhibition play. In the first preseason game, with regulars on the floor, Obi Toppin handled the backup five role.
Nance got the job in the second and third games, then Toppin returned in the finale. Toppin looks like the best of the three, but there will be nights when he simply doesn’t have the size for the matchup.
Huff is listed at 7-foot-1, though he weighs less than Nance Jr., who is 7-inches shorter. For now, Indiana can patch that position together by committee, but if the front office makes a move during the season, this is the spot most likely to draw attention.
The backup point guard situation also deserves a closer look, even if it didn’t feel that way a few weeks ago. In mid-September, there was no concern at all.
Now there is at least some reason to keep an eye on it. T.J.
McConnell is 34 and missed the entire preseason because of an undisclosed injury, which is enough to raise the alarm on its own. He’s the oldest player on the roster, and last season a hamstring injury in Minnesota during the preseason cost him 10 regular-season games.
Around the league, some analysts said they noticed less lift from him after that.
That matters because McConnell was a major part of Indiana’s NBA Finals run and a key bench piece the Pacers leaned on heavily. What he gives them is not easy to replace, and the current roster doesn’t have a backup point guard behind him that inspires a ton of confidence.
Braden Smith is headed to the Noblesville Boom to develop, while Quenton Jackson is more of a shooting guard than a true floor general. That could push Indiana to lean even more on Andrew Nembhard in the backup point guard role, even while he remains in the starting lineup next to Haliburton.
If a veteran guard becomes available through signing or trade, the Pacers should be paying close attention.
Then there’s the biggest concern of all: Haliburton’s health. He played in one preseason game, then missed the next one against Atlanta two days later because of an ankle injury.
When he came back, he delivered a sensational half against Oklahoma City, but there was also a sequence where he hit the floor and seemed unsure what had happened. Quinn Buckner told viewers on Pacers TV that Haliburton was fine and simply tired as he got back up and resumed running the offense.
The preseason finale against Milwaukee brought another scare. Haliburton landed awkwardly late in the first half after a three-point attempt over Myles Turner in front of the Bucks bench, then walked off gingerly with a noticeable limp.
He also had a slight limp leaving the media room after the postgame press conference. Haliburton told reporters he was completely fine and said it was only his body being sore after a game, but every awkward landing is going to get attention after the injuries he has already dealt with as a Pacer.
Indiana’s season rises and falls with Haliburton. He is the engine of everything they do, and if he misses real time, there isn’t a true replacement for what he brings. Keeping him on the floor is the top priority.
In Other News...
Braden Smith Is Giving Pacers Fans A Real Backup Guard Debate
Braden Smith keeps making a case for himself in the Pacers backcourt picture, and Fridays preseason game against the Bucks gave fans another reason to pay attention. In 14:22 of regulation, the two-way guard handed out 6 assists, showed the kind of live-dribble vision Indiana likes, and flashed the baseline creativity that has helped him stand out as he works to sharpen his aggressiveness and passing.
Tyrese Haliburton was quick to notice the playmaking, praising Smiths ability to create for others and likening his feel for getting to the baseline to T.J. McConnells, even with McConnell sidelined because of an undisclosed issue. The Pacers lost in overtime, but Smiths minutes only added to a debate that already feels like it could last beyond preseason if he keeps stacking nights like this. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburtons Fiery Bucks Exchange Looks Even More Personal Now
Tyrese Haliburtons preseason night against Milwaukee already carried more edge than most exhibition games, and the back-and-forth with Ryan Rollins gave it a sharper tone. After a hard foul sparked a heated verbal exchange, Haliburton was hit with a technical foul, then answered with a three-pointer before appearing to keep the conversation going in Rollins direction.
The Pacers and Bucks wound up needing overtime before Milwaukee escaped with a 128-127 win, though neither player was on the floor for the extra session. In a game that otherwise could have blended into the preseason background, the exchange stood out as one of the more personal moments between two teams that will see plenty more of each other. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Keep Showing One Early Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Pacers have gotten encouraging work from their starting group in preseason, with Pascal Siakam turning in a strong outing that included 24 points and a healthy plus-minus. There have been positives elsewhere, too, but the early trend has been hard to miss: Indianas first unit has looked far more steady than the rest of the rotation as the team tries to sort out its depth.
The issue has surfaced whenever the bench enters the mix, where the Pacers have had trouble protecting leads and keeping the same level of flow. Jay Huff, Ben Sheppard and Quenton Jackson have all posted rough plus-minus numbers, and until that second unit becomes more reliable, the early promise from the starters may keep getting undercut by what happens next. [Read more 🡒]