Will this be a gap year for the short-handed Pacers? Don't count on it.
No Tyrese Haliburton. No Myles Turner. It's going to be a challenge, but it's one the Pacers can handle
This is supposed to be a gap year, a mostly-lost year with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined all season with a torn Achilles and Myles Turner starting training camp with the Milwaukee Bucks. Just a few months after taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to a decisive seventh game in the NBA Finals, the talk is, the Pacers will be an also-ran this season. Playoffs? Unlikely, or so goes the common sentiment.
Well, not so fast, my friend.
“Obviously, we’re down Tyrese, so that will make some challenges,” said Chad Buchanan, the Pacers general manager. “But we’re not looking at this as a year to just try to get through. I mean, we never wish away a season. We’ve got so many opportunities for some players on our team..we’re excited to see what they can do.
“And I think this team has shown that they come together when people kind of doubt them. I think they feel and they sense and they hear the doubt about this season, and we’re still going to have a lot of the same identity. We still have a lot of the same core pieces...So I wouldn’t put a limit on anything for this year.”
What would be a sane expectation? I’m saying they make the playoffs, finish eighth in the Eastern Conference, land a couple of games above .500. The loss of Haliburton is devastating, of course. He was their heart and soul, the guy who set the tempo. And while Turner’s loss won’t be quite as impactful, it would be nuts to suggest the Pacers have upgraded at the position for this season.
But they still have Andrew Nembhard, who is going to flourish this year as the starting point guard. They still have Pascal Siakam, who once again welcomed the entire team to his Orlando home for a set of pre-training camp workouts. They still have Aaron Nesmith, the glue of this team, and T.J. McConnell, and so many of the players who took Indianapolis on the joyride of its life last spring and summer. They still have coach Rick Carlisle, who will eventually punch his ticket to the Hall of Fame.
“I think (Rick) Carlisle will tell you, we want to keep several things that we’ve been doing the last few years, and that’s hard play, playing together, picking up full court defensively, playing different than a lot of other teams in our league,” Buchanan said. “That’s what’s been our separator...Now, things may be a little different without Tyrese leadinbg the charge, creating pace, Maybe a little different with how we play offensively. We’re probably a little more physical. Maybe a little better defensively, but we’re going to have to play a little differently to win.”
This team will go as far as Andrew Nembhard takes them. Nembhard has been a more--than-solid piece for the Pacers, helping Haliburton as a secondary ball handler and covering the opponent’s best scoring guard. This is his opportunity to break through and become a low-grade star in this league.
“We’re big believers in Drew,” Buchanan said. “I think you’ve seen growth from him every season he’s been with us...I think you’ll see more offensive growth from him, and we’re going to put a lot on his plate having to be the primary ball handler; whether he’s having to guard all these high-level scorers, we’ll kind of defer to what Rick and our staff feels is best on any given night.”
This is a massive year for two players in particular -- starting two-guard Bennedict Mathurin and edge-of-the-rotation player Jarace Walker. With Mathurin, the Pacers will use this season to determine whether to extend his contract. With Walker, it’s just a matter of getting more consistent playing time and taking advantage. If Mathurin can establish himself as a productive starter, if Walker can earn a spot near the top of the rotation, the Pacers will be thrilled.
“Obviously, a big opportunity for Benn with the injury to Ty, the need for scoring, and I think the thing with Bennedict is, he’s wanted more,” Buchanan said. “Ever since he got here, he’s wanted more. He’s a big believer in himself, a tremendous competitor, a tough-minded worker, and I think we want to see him fit with the way we play. We want to see him making quick decisions, sprinting the floor, embracing defensive matchups...Bennedict’s ready for all that.”
In many ways, Mathurin is a square peg in a round hole. That doesn’t mean he isn’t effective, but he’s more of an iso-ball, break-your-defender-down type of player. Unlike his teammates, Mathurin has a habit of holding the ball and making it stick rather than making the split-second decision necessary to keep the ball popping.
With Walker, the No. 8 draft choice in 2023, it’s time to step up. He’s been in and out of the rotation thus far in his career, but the raw material is there. Time to grow up and produce on a regular basis.
“Very important year for Jarace,” Buchanan said. “I think we’ve seen glimpses of what he can do. I think he understands this is an opportunity for him to step in and provide some defense, some rebounding and some physicality, which we know he can, and he’s just got to embrace that role...
“We have a real role for somebody to step in there and be a big-wing defender. You know, certain matchups. This is an opportunity for him. He’s just got to show us.”
The other massive question mark, besides what life is going to look like without Haliburton, is the center spot. When Turner shocked the Pacers and fled to Milwaukee after the season, he left a massive hole. But the Pacers believe they can utilize a center-by-committee approach, with Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman. All three bring something different to the team.
“Jay is a player we first saw in college, (Virginia) and then as he played in the G-League, we played in the playoffs against the Washington Wizards team and we all traveled to Washington to watch the game,” Buchanan said. “And I remember thinking, he’s really come along, taken big steps, so we continued to monitor him. And then we we had a need for a stretch-5 this summer, he was a name that our analytics staff targeted. He’s a great fit for us, his age, his shooting, his IQ, so we thought this would be a good match for us.”
By now, the buzz has worn off from the epic Finals run last season. Now it’s time to get back to work Tuesday, the first day of camp. Now it’s time for this relatively new team to establish it’s not just going to fade away into obscurity. But both Buchanan and assistant GM Ted Wu talked about the impact that run made on the organization and the city.
“I would (share) the one comment that I hear a lot that gives me the most pride, when somebody comes up to me and says how much they loved watching our team play,” Buchanan said. “ `I loved how they played for each other. They were selfless; they supported and rooted for each other.’ That touches me the most when I hear it because that’s a reflection of what your coach and your culture has built.”
Buchanan recalled walking between gyms in Las Vegas during Summer League. There, he saw two parents wearing LeBron James’ jerseys while their young son, maybe four years old, was wearing a Haliburton jersey.
“Like, you never saw that in the past,” he said. “So I love the response to our players. They’ve earned that and hopefully we can continue to build off of that.”
This is going to be a challenge, taking on the league without your most important player, competing without your long-time center. But this is not going to be a lost season. This is not going to be a gap year. As always, the Pacers will exceed expectations and turn the national narrative on its ear.
Just watch.