The Pacers spent the offseason wondering how Ivica Zubac would mesh with a roster built to fly. Five preseason games in, the answer is starting to look pretty clean.
Yes, there were real questions about the overlap. Indiana plays faster than anyone in the NBA, while Zubac brings a more post-heavy, slower style to the floor. But the early returns have been strong, and the connection with Tyrese Haliburton has already shown up in the ways you’d expect: dump-offs, entry passes, and screens that create huge pockets of space for Haliburton as he works back into NBA game speed after more than a year away.
What’s getting less attention, though, is another piece that’s quietly mattered for Indiana. Pascal Siakam, despite a pretty rough preseason overall, has been giving Zubac the kind of passing support that can tilt a lineup. It doesn’t always jump off the stat sheet, but it’s there on the screen, and it could wind up as the X-Factor for this season - and era - of Pacers basketball.
Big-to-big action has already paid off. Siakam has found Zubac for a couple of lobs from the perimeter and on dump-offs when he drives. Zubac, in turn, has rewarded some of Siakam’s off-ball cuts, even if very little was working for Siakam in 3/5 preseason games.
The broader point is simple: neither Zubac nor Siakam is Tyrese Haliburton as a playmaker, and they don’t need to be. Both are well above the typical level for their positions, and that gives Indiana another way to create offense for teammates who need help getting shots.
That’s what makes this fit more than just a Haliburton story. Zubac is a strong answer for him, even if he isn’t a shooter and doesn’t play fast.
On paper, that could have been a problem. In practice, the value of what both players bring makes the alternative look a lot worse.
Indiana’s fit is beginning to come together, and it’s forming around the team’s three best players.
In Other News...
Pacers Trade Buzz Hints At A Bigger Plan Around Haliburton
The Pacers are entering the season with a very different kind of optimism, and it starts with Tyrese Haliburton back in the mix after his injury. With Haliburton under a five-year extension signed in 2023 and Indiana projected to push for a strong record, the conversation around the roster has shifted from simply getting healthy to figuring out how to maximize a team built to win around its point guard.
Bleacher Reports Dan Favale recently put three names into the Pacers trade orbit in Yves Missi, Jaylin Williams, and Jordan Walsh, a list that suggests Indiana may still be looking for a specific kind of fit rather than just adding talent for the sake of it. The interesting part is what that pursuit says about the bigger picture: the Pacers appear to believe this group can climb, and the next move could tell a lot about how aggressive they plan to be while Haliburton leads the way. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Suddenly Face A T.J. McConnell Concern They Can't Ignore
T.J. McConnells hamstring strain comes at an awkward moment for the Pacers, who were already relying on his steady ballhandling and relentless pace to help stabilize the second unit. The veteran point guard is expected to miss the first game of the season, and for Indiana, the concern goes beyond a single absence. At 34, McConnell has built a reputation on durability and an ability to keep producing despite physical limitations, which has made his value to this roster easy to see and not so easy to replace.
Indiana does not currently have an obvious answer for the role McConnell fills, and that puts extra weight on both the short-term rotation and the bigger question hanging over his future. His career has lasted this long because he has consistently outlasted expectations, but the Pacers now have to contend with the possibility that even one of their most dependable pieces may be entering a more fragile stretch. For a team that leans on him in ways few backups are asked to shoulder, the timing is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Get One Encouraging Return As Another Injury Concern Lingers
Chicagos frontcourt picture got a little clearer with Zach Collins back from a quad injury, even if the return comes with a built-in limit. Head coach Tiago Splitter said the Bulls will be careful with Collins minutes, keeping him in the 12-16 range while they sort through rotation combinations and try to stabilize a group that is already dealing with the absence of starting center Nic Claxton to open the regular season.
The bigger concern is the one that could follow the Bulls all year: Josh Giddey is managing a wrist injury he picked up in the preseason, and he says it will need attention as the season goes on. For a team trying to keep its early-season footing in the Central Division, the combination of a returning big man on a restriction and a starting point guard playing through discomfort is the kind of injury ledger that can quietly shape everything, even as the Pacers have started strong and the rest of the division has already seen its share of movement. [Read more 🡒]