The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the biggest questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Appreciate!
INDIAN PACERS
End of 2023-24
Off-season movements
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Additions: James Wiseman, Johnny Furphy, Tristan Newton, Enrique Freeman
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Subtractions: Jalen Smith, Doug McDermott
The big question: Was this a blip on the radar or the start of something real?
Most of the offseason talk about which East team has the best chance to topple the Celtics has focused on the Knicks and 76ers, following their respective big moves on the wing. But maybe we should spare a thought for the team that… you know… I actually played in Boston in the conference final?
It’s reasonable to entertain some skepticism that the Pacers will repeat a playoff run that saw them beat a Bucks team missing Giannis Antetokounmpo (and, for two games, Damian Lillard) and a Knicks team that was a MASH unit in the end before being swept by the Celtics. This framing, however, gives little importance to Indiana.
Despite playoff injuries, Pacers beat Bucks four times in five tries in the regular seasonilluminating them to the rhythm of 122 points per 100 possessions. The Knicks ran out of gas because Indiana made them keep the pedal down. survive match 3 and avoid elimination in Game 6 before winning a game 7 on the road behind the best team-wide shooting performance in NBA playoff history. And even though Boston shut them out in the ECF, it’s worth noting that the Pacers were leading or tied in the final minute. three of the four games. Even with a defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed and with All-NBA maestro Tyrese Haliburton missing the last two games, the Pacers were right there.
This is of little importance in a results-based business; as the prophet Dominique Toretto told usone man’s “you almost got it” is another man’s “I never got your car.” But while pessimists might look at the Pacers and see the 2020-21 Atlanta Hawks, on the verge of falling back into lopsided stasis, a more optimistic type might see a team that has reached the final four despite being a long shot of its final form.
Pacers return all connected players at least 100 minutes in the playoffssix of whom are 25 or younger – a pretty rich source of untapped player development potential. (That doesn’t include their lottery picks for 2022 and 2023: Bennedict Mathurin, sidelined in March because of a torn labrum, and Jarace Walker, stuck behind Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin on the depth chart.) They had the East. fourth best record And third best net rating after swinging the successful business for Siakam in mid-January, and played at a 50-win pace after the All-Star break.
They did so with Haliburton clearly at least somewhat hampered by hamstring and back injuries, offering hope of even more electric results with a full-strength version that, in the first half, was arguably the best offensive player in the NBA. They will now benefit from a full season from the partnership between Haliburton and Siakam, which began to gel late in the regular season before paying major dividends in the postseason. Indiana outplayed its opposition in 79 points in 383 minutes in the playoffs with both All-Stars sharing the floor, scoring a torrid match 125.5 points per 100.
With the benefit of a full summer and training camp to tinker with not only this duo, but also one of the deepest backcourts in the league – newly extended playoff aces Haliburton Andrew Nembhard And TJ McConnella healthy Mathurin, the rising Ben Sheppard – head coach Rick Carlisle could have designed an even more potent misery inducer of an offensive machine. Considering the last iteration which finished in the top six (deep breath) offensive efficiency, assist rate, turnover rate, field goal percentage, pace of play, second chance points, fast break points And dots in paint (cleansing exhalation)this should be a terribly intimidating proposition for opposing defenses.
Perhaps just as daunting: the challenge of finding new schematic answers to improve a defense that finished 28th, 26th and 24th in points allowed per possession over the final period. last three seasonsand ranked 22nd in the NBA after the Siakam trade. (The positive side? The arrow points up!)
There is a few defensive talents on the roster – physical and feisty wings Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith; veteran rim protector Myles Turner; Walker, who may be exactly the kind of slender, versatile crop 4 Indiana needs – but probably not an “above average unit” crop. The beauty of having a world-class offense, however, is that it may not be necessary. If Carlisle and Co. can just find a sufficiently achievable coverage for the Siakam-Turner duo – who also mitigate the damage caused by opponents’ persistent targeting of Haliburton – to tie approach league average, we might then look back on last spring’s run not as a flash in the pan, but as the first spark signaling the start of a bright, red-hot new era in Indiana basketball.
Best screenplay
Haliburton remains healthy throughout, leading the Pacers to not only the best offense in the league, but one of the very best in NBA history. With Turner and Siakam developing more chemistry and the young wings stepping up their efforts at the point of attack, Carlisle is able to construct a plan that manages to continue to limit 3-point shots without giving up. by far the greatest number of rim attacks in the league, allowing Indiana to settle between 15th and 20th in defensive efficiency — a recipe for well over 50 wins, first-round home-field advantage and another deep playoff run.
If everything collapses
Carlisle can’t work around personnel deficiencies enough to keep the Pacers from constantly abandoning the store, and the defense slips to last place. As good as this offense is, even though Haliburton misses time again – they scored at one top six clip when he was from the ground last season, and their flotilla of complementary ball-handlers should be even better – it’s simply too much to ask, especially in April and May. Indiana avoids the play-in, but loses to a stronger, more balanced opponent in the first round, as questions about how to build a championship-caliber defense around Haliburton grow louder.
Fantastic filming
As one of the fastest and most efficient units in basketball last season, the Pacers turned heads as a solid hub for fantasy production. Haliburton played in 69 games despite injuries and averaged at least 20 points with 10 assists for the second year in a row. This is an easy first round in fantasy drafts.
Turner is still an effective shot blocker to grab in the fourth round, while Siakam has a safe floor of 20-7-4. I prefer Turner over Siakam in category leagues because Siakam’s defensive numbers are trending down, as well as his free throw percentage. In points leagues, go with Siakam.
Two late round guys I like are Nesmith and Nembhard. Both are effective on the field, scrappy defensively, and come at a reasonable cost. Mathurin is a microwave bucket, but he has yet to prove himself to be a viable fantasy asset outside of scoring. — Dan Titus
Calendar 2024-25
They just won 47 with Haliburton on a minutes restriction and/or limited to three months, half a season of Siakam and a rotation full of young guys just starting to get their feet wet. I will take over.
