The Indiana Pacers had a completely lost season in 2025-26. A year after making the NBA Finals, they won just 19 games. A big reason for that was the injury that Tyrese Haliburton suffered in Game 7 of the Finals. His torn Achilles cost him all of last year.
Heading into next season, Indiana will have mostly the same team that made the Finals. The biggest change is that Ivica Zubac is the starting center now. With all of the changes happening in the Eastern Conference, three Pacers players are seen as having a ton of pressure on them next season.
GettyIndiana Pacers center Ivica Zubac dunks the ball. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Three Pacers Players Carrying Massive Pressures Into Next Year
According to NBA pundit Zach Lowe, Haliburton, Zubac, and Pascal Siakam all have a lot of pressure heading into next year. He believes that the team has a chance to win the East, but only if all three players are playing at the top of their abilities. He said so on the latest episode of the Zach Lowe Show.
“Can you just find it again after taking a year off and importing a new center, and Pascal Siakam’s a year older? Can you just find it again? Because Vegas doesn’t think they can, at least in the regular season.”
Lowe’s main concern is that the Pacers will have a new style of play with Zubac manning the middle. Instead of running a pick-and-pop at the top of the key, Zubac will roll. Developing chemistry between Haliburton and Zubac will be the key to having a top-notch offense.
Last season, the Pacers had the third-worst offense in the league. With Haliburton back, the team should be a much better team. Siakam is still an All-Star player, and was a year ago. Figuring out the defensive component should be better with Zubac in the paint, too.
GettyIndiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam shoots the ball in a game. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Indiana has Visions of Winning a Title Next Year
Despite a lot of other teams improving in the Eastern Conference in the offseason, the Pacers believe they can win a championship next year. The trade to bring in Zubac was an acknowledgement of that. They are going all in for the next couple of years.
Even if the team starts slow next year, they should pick things up by the turn of the calendar. That’s what happened in the 2024-25 season, and they ended up making the Finals. Last season, they were seventh in the NBA in pace without Haliburton running the show.
With Haliburton back, even with Zubac as a starter, they will likely be in the top five in pace. That’s how they were the most successful when they made the Finals. Their up-tempo style of play is what took the league by storm and allowed them to make such a deep run.
Indiana remains one of the most intriguing teams in the East after they sat mostly idle in the offseason.
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