Haliburton’s return as point guard is critical—the Pacers perform significantly better with him on the court.
Ivica Zubac’s screening and physicality transform the pick-and-roll game, giving the team a new offensive dimension.
The Eastern Conference loaded up with major moves, making the path to playoffs highly competitive this season.
The 82 game season begins today for the Indiana Pacers but before the opening jump here is a season preview.
The previous season 2025-2026 ended in regression in about every category for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers finished 29th in offensive rating and 23rd in defensive rating. Compare that to 9th in offensive rating and 13th in defensive rating in the 2024-2025 season. While people expected less wins without Tyrese Haliburton, no one expected the worst franchise season record for the Pacers with 19 wins and 63 losses. Last season is one fans want to forget the players realize it’s not something to throw away.
Haliburton stated at media day, “Don’t pretend like last year didn’t happen.” Pascal Siakam left similar remarks, “We’ve seen what we don’t want to be.”
2026 – 2027 Season
The 2026-2027 season brings new opportunities for the Pacers as players are returning healthy. Tyrese Haliburton is full go with the rest of the returning players. With 4 preseason games finalized and the season beginning tonight new expectations for the team have arrived. Returning where they were 2 years ago is every team’s goal but reaching the mountaintop once more might look a bit different this year for the Pacers with some new additions.
Offseason additions
Source: Justin Casterline / Getty (Ivica Zubac 2025-2026 Season: 14 points 10 rebounds on 30 minutes last season)
Dating back to last February Indiana acquired Ivica Zubac in a trade with the Clippers. Zubac came to the pacers nursing an ankle injury at the time resulting in him playing just 5 games for the Pacers. With such a small sample size the Pacer fans didn’t get to have the true Zubac experience. His presence can bring something different to this Pacers core that has not been there in the past. Haliburton called Zubac the best screener he has ever played with. Rick Carlislie dubbed Ivica a “physical force” and highlighted his skill as a passer as well. The preseason games so far this year have shown signs of the differences in the style. Haliburton mentioned the changes in the pick and roll game after the final preseason game with Zubac because “he hits people” describing the physicality of Zubac. The Pacers new starting center performed well in the offseason during his time playing with his national team in Croatia averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds across 4 games. The new addition looks forward to playing with the team commenting that the camaraderie of this team is very similar to the Croatian team he plays with back home.
Source: Justin Casterline / Getty (Kelly Oubre Media Day)
During the offseason the Pacers added 2 new players via free agency. The first one is Kelly Oubre coming over from the Philadelphia 76ers. Last year he averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds, and a steal a game. Pacers general Manager Chad Buchanan mentioned during Media Day with the departure of Benedict Mathurin last year the need for wing depth was prevalent. Buchanan was attracted to the 2-way potential that Oubre can add to the second unit. As well as noting his previous experience as a starter in this league if injuries occur. Kelly Oubre like other new additions had comments about the way the Pacers play. Oubre likes to think of himself as a “Swiss army knife” for how he can contribute.
Source: Justin Casterline / Getty
The third new addition to the Pacers team is Larry Nance Jr. This is a depth piece for the center position and Chad Buchanan believed Nance fits right in with how the Pacers want to play. Nance at media day noted how conditioned the Pacers are and this is something he felt he wanted to be a part of. He furthered these comments about the depth and play style stating the Pacers are “at the forefront of the new NBA.”
Projected Starters and Rotational Players
Tyrese Haliburton
Andrew Nembhard
Aaron Nesmith
Pascal Siakam
Ivica Zubac
This lineup comes as no surprise as 4 of the 5 are the returning starters from 2025 playoff run. This lineup was also the starting lineup in the first preseason game. The preseason also introduced what is likely the first player to be in the starting lineup if someone is hurt excluding the center position. Kelly Oubrestarted in place of starters in Two of the four preseason games. He entered the starting lineup one with Tyrese out and another with Nesmith out. If Zubac were to miss any time presumably Jay Huff would take his spot. This starting 5 will have some differences
The Pacers rotation can vary game by game for an 82 game season but some expectations can be had that Obi Toppin, Jay Huff, Jarace Walker, Kelly Oubre and TJ McConnell are the first five off the bench. Other players fans will see across the season will include Larry Nance Jr, Ben Sheppard, and Quintin Jackson.
Another name to be aware of is Johnny Furphy. Furphy is recovering from a torn acl from last season. During media day, Vice President of Basketball operations Ted Wu, discussed while they don’t want to put a date on his return the expectation is middle of the season. The task now for Carlisle and others amongst the staff is finding the good balance for the rotation and what five works well together and what 5 will not.
Key Players to watch for
Tyrese Haliburton – This comes as no surprise as the return of the guy who sets the pace for this team. The vision on the floor including his passing ability, the Pacers are a different team with Haliburton on the court. True shooting percentages move up with him on the court. With an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4-1, Hali finds teammates in places to score efficiently. Tyrese’s tendencies in the 2024-2025 season on average played better in back to backs (19.4 pts, 9.5 assists and 2 steals in 11 games) then with 1,2,or 3 days rest. The star point guard average 3 less ppg in road games then in home games. In losses Tyrese average was 14 ppg in comparison to the 21 ppg for wins. If we were taking these trends into this season the closer Haliburton gets to 20 points the more likely Pacers will win. With the addition of a new center and what Haliburton has improved upon physically and mentally one can only assume Tyrese is set up for a big year.
Ivica Zubac – Another key player crucial to this season was brought in last year and has been boasted about by players management and staff alike. The strengths of Zubac is his size and strength. His ability to set screens and rebound the ball brings physicality to both the offense and the defense. His ability to set screens on offense will play a big impact on the Pacers this year. Pacers two years ago had Myles Turner as the roll man 28 percent of the time resulting in 4.5 points per game from pick and roll. This may not seem like a lot until you realize that was 12 most in the league. Compare that to 19 percent of the time and 3.5 points a game for Zubac. Zubacs physicality then as a roll man and the rim will be crucial for the success of the team this year.
Jarace Walker – A potential surprise player for some people but a player who showed improvements especially after the all-star break last year finishing with 14 ppg, 6.8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Now he may not average 30 minutes a game like he did during that span of play but nonetheless a player to watch for off the bench. The Pacers GM Chad Buchanin praised the second half of the season at media day but wants that kind of play to be consistent from the forward. Jarace has the ability to be a mutli-tool guy for the Pacers and can deliver something different on any given night. The preseason games demonstrated this when he had 7-point, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds off the bench in the 1st preseason game. Jarace Walker could be a big piece off the bench this year for the Pacers
A Look Around the League
The Eastern conference changed during the offseason with teams loading up including the Heat Raptors, and 76ers all making trades in the hopes to better their team. Fans will be able to see this firsthand with their first national TV game as Lebron James (free agent signing) and Jaylen Brown (traded for former Pacer Paul George) are now on the 76ers. A familiar foe in Giannis Antetokounmpo traded to the Miami heat. Another familiar face returning to the eastern conference in a trade to the Toronto Raptors is Kawhi Leonard. All of this in one offseason, the Pacers have to expect a tough challenge from the Eastern Conference.
Some big games with Eastern Conference teams include
Oct 28 vs Philadephia – Lebron and the new look 76ers come to Indy for the Pacers first National TV game.
Oct 30 vs Miami – Giannis’s new team and the first NBA cup game for the Pacers.
Nov 11 vs Washington – Pacers take on the new look Wizards and the 1st overall pick AJ Dybansta
Nov 13 vs New York – The defending champs come to town as the Pacers & Knicks rivalry begins for the season.
Jan 20 vs Boston – The first game against the Celtics with newly acquired Paul George.
April 11 vs New York – The Knicks on the final game of the season. Potential Playoff implications and the rivalry continues.
The western conference had some changes, but most notable moves are Lebron leaving the west and Lamelo Ball joining the Tmberwolves. Some teams have players returning from injury Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and Fred VanVleet. The western conference is still loaded with talent. From last year’s runners-up in the Spurs or the thunder returning to full strength for another go with 2x MVP Shai.
Notable games against Western Conference teams include:
Oct 23 vs Dallas – The return of Tyrese Haliburton to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time since 2025.
Nov 23 vs Oklahoma City – The Thunder come into town against Tyrese since Game 6 of the NBA finals.
Jan 6 vs San Antonio – The runners-up from the past two seasons duel it out.
Mar 25 vs San Antonio – The second meeting of these two teams for the season.
Where to watch
The announcement of Pacers streaming on the platform DAZN allows fans to view 73 of the 82 games of the season with the exception of changes. The remaining nine games will be on national television across different platforms; ESPN, NBC, Peacock, and Prime. The typical change in the schedule fans will have to look for is the in-season tournament if the Pacers win the appropriate games for extra ones.
Best Case Scenario
The best-case scenario for this season Pacers team is going back to the NBA finals and finishing what they started two years ago. A healthy season and Tyrese Haliburton leading the charge goes the long way for the Pacers. In a loaded conference the expectation for this kind of season is a top 4 seed with an expected win total between 48-53
Worse Case Scenario
The worst-case scenario for the Pacers is missing the playoffs. The Pacers should be apart of the top 10 seed in the conference for at least the Play in games. Haliburton is the driving force for this team any long term injury to him again could put the season at risk. The Pacers are a deep enough team to make things work as players return from injury. Although, the east will be dog fight from 1 to 10 in seeding.
Get set for the season with our NBA Opening Day schedule and viewing guide, then read Carlisle on Ivica Zubac’s screening and Carlisle on Haliburton’s return and DAZN.