The Conversation: Who are the Indiana Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton?

The Indiana Pacers were in a spot like this 11 years ago, after Paul George’s nasty leg injury. The difference is that their franchise player is definitely out for the entire season this time. This gives the team clarity, at least: They’ll be as competitive as they can be without Tyrese Haliburton, and they’ll learn more about their young players. Can Bennedict Mathurin do what Rick Carlisle wants him to do as a full-time starter? Can Andrew Nembhard handle increased usage while maintaining his defensive intensity? Will 2025-26 be Jarace Walker’s breakout year? Will it be Johnny Furphy’s?

If there is a silver lining to Haliburton’s absence, it is that Indiana is the rare team coming off a surprisingly deep run that will not be expected to duplicate it. The Pacers of recent seasons have played a distinctive style because of their star’s distinctive style. They’ve built their roster around him, too. In this gap year, they’ll need to do things differently — they’ll be “a more physical defensive team” and Pascal Siakam will be “more of a primary ballhandler,” according to Carlisle — but the hope is that they can continue to be more than the sum of their parts. With Myles Turner off in Milwaukee, too, simply making the playoffs would be a success story.

The State of Play

Last year: Early on, the Pacers couldn’t guard anybody and didn’t look like themselves on offense. After a 9-14 start, they got healthier and turned everything around. The second half of Haliburton’s season looked a lot like the first half of his 2023-24 season, so he made All-NBA again (and Siakam made the All-Star Game). Indiana finished 50-32, then it ousted the Bucks in five games, upset the 64-win Cavaliers in five games and beat the Knicks in six to advance to the NBA Finals. Before tearing his Achilles in Game 7 against the Thunder, a basketball tragedy of the highest order, Haliburton put together a playoff run for the ages — in every single series, he sealed a crazy comeback victory with a game-winning shot.

The offseason: After spending the first 10 years of his career with the Pacers and being in trade rumors for much of that time, it was something of a shock to see Turner leave as a free agent right after they made the Finals. The Bucks came flying off the top rope with a four-year, $108.9 million contract that Indiana didn’t see coming. Indiana then sent Memphis a future second-round pick to acquire Jay Huff, a stretch big who could be a bargain. It also brought back centers Isaiah Jackson (three years, $21 million) and James Wiseman (two years, $5.7 million, team option), who suffered Achilles tears about a week apart at the very beginning of the 2024-25 season.

Las Vegas over/under: 38.5 wins, per BetMGM

The Conversation

Pacers believer: Everybody’s sleeping on the Pacers again, and I don’t get it. If they were nothing more than the Tyrese Haliburton Show, how exactly did they make the Finals? Pascal Siakam was the team’s best player for significant stretches of last season, Aaron Nesmith is one of the best 3-and-D guys in the league and I’m perfectly comfortable with Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell steering this ship. It’s going to be so funny when Bennedict Mathurin wins Most Improved Player and every “expert” on the internet pretends to have believed in him all along.

Pacers skeptic: Did you really just say “when” Mathurin wins MIP? You may want to soften that a tad, given that he’s been more or less the same guy since he was drafted. He might score more points, but unless he makes major strides as a passer and/or defender, I don’t see it. And it’s not some kind of insult to Siakam, Nesimth, Nembhard and McConnell to acknowledge that the Pacers simply won’t be the same team this year. The way I see it, your overly rosy assessment of this situation is insulting to Haliburton! He is a singular talent, capable of creating advantages out of thin air by virtue of his uncanny passing ability, speed of thought, pull-up shooting and overall offensive creativity. There is talent on the roster, sure, but he elevated it immensely. When Haliburton was off the court last season, Indiana was a straight-up bad offensive team and a downright dismal one in the playoffs.

Pacers believer: Fine, “when” was too strong. I admit there is also a possibility that Huff, not Mathurin, wins Most Improved Player. And I really don’t care about last season’s on/off numbers, given that Haliburton played so many of his minutes with the other starters. Do you remember Obi Toppin going off in an overtime win over the Timberwolves when the Pacers’ top six players were all either sitting out, fouled out or ejected? I do, and I also remember the Pacers absolutely dominating the Cavaliers in the second half of a comeback win in January after Haliburton left the game with an injury. These guys have known for months what they will be missing. It is not insulting to Haliburton to say that his teammates will be prepared.

Pacers skeptic: Glad you brought up that comeback against Cleveland. The two teams happened to play again two days later, and Haliburton sat out. Going into it, Kenny Atkinson complimented Carlisle and admitted that the Cavs hadn’t been ready for the full-court press that completely changed the previous game. They were ready for the pressure in the rematch, though, and won comfortably. Afterward, Carlisle said, “It’s clear that we need Tyrese back healthy. He’s one of the best players in the world.” All I’m saying is that the Pacers still need him.

Pacers believer: What exactly is your point here? That the Pacers would be better with Haliburton? Thank you, Dr. Ball Knower. Sure, they need Haliburton to compete for a championship again, but I don’t understand why, in this version of the Eastern Conference, people seem to think that they’re going to be a lower-rung team without him. Aside from the Magic, which of the teams that finished below the Pacers last season are going to jump them in the standings? The Bucks replaced Damian Lillard with Cole Anthony. The Sixers are never healthy. Everybody needs to calm down about the Hawks. I don’t really get what the Heat, Bulls or Raptors are doing, and the others aren’t even worth mentioning.

Pacers skeptic: I thought we’d be going back and forth about Huff’s defense or Nembhard’s 3-point shooting or whatever. But instead of trying to make the case that this Pacers team is actually good, you’ve resorted to the “everybody else is bad” argument. Just to make this interesting, I’ll say what you should’ve: Carlisle tends to get the most out of his teams, and maybe these Siakam-led Pacers will still be hard to slow down. If Playoff Nembhard shows up for the entire season, Mathurin runs with his opportunity, the young guys make leaps and Huff and Jackson are solid enough that the center position isn’t a massive weakness, my preseason pessimism might look misguided. Let’s be realistic, though. It’s not particularly likely that all of that happens.