{"id":190603,"date":"2025-09-01T02:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T02:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190603\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T02:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T02:46:12","slug":"what-do-the-indiana-pacers-need-to-consider-in-their-gap-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190603\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do The Indiana Pacers Need To Consider In Their \u2018Gap Year\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Indiana<\/p>\n

CLEVELAND, OHIO – JANUARY 12: Jarace Walker #5 Andrew Nembhard #2 and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Indiana Pacers celebrate during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on January 12, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Pacers defeated the Cavaliers 108-93. (Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS \u2013 The popular phrase used to describe the 2025-26 season for the Indiana Pacers (and Boston Celtics) is \u201cgap year\u201d. Superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton is out for the 2025-26 campaign<\/a> with an Achilles tear, so things will naturally look different in the coming months.<\/p>\n

The term is applied to the Pacers largely because of the reality that their ceiling is temporarily lower. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024, then the NBA Finals in 2025. With Haliburton healthy, the team\u2019s peak is incredibly high. The gap year expression comes from the thinking that the Pacers are embarking on a one-season journey without that same peak, but they could reach it again when Haliburton is back.<\/p>\n

But the Pacers themselves don\u2019t agree with the notion. They\u2019re moving forward with hopes to win as much as they possibly can this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are saying this is a \u2018gap year\u2019 for the Pacers. We don\u2019t view it that way. That\u2019s never been how we\u2019ve operated,\u201d Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said during an appearance on the Setting The Pace podcast<\/a>. \u201cWe go out there to try to compete to win every season. And obviously, there\u2019s certain seasons where circumstances make it difficult. I\u2019m not saying that\u2019s what this year is, because I think we have a good core group of guys returning who want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is certainly a tricky spot for the blue and gold to be in. Their best player and two-time All-NBA point guard won\u2019t play this year. Even with the hope of winning as much as they can, they\u2019ll have to do so with players in different roles.<\/p>\n

Andrew Nembhard will become the starting point guard, sliding down from the two to fill Haliburton\u2019s spot. Nembhard\u2019s place will be taken by Bennedict Mathurin in the opening five<\/a>. Myles Turner left Indiana too, which also brings down the Pacers potency for the coming season. His role will be filled by Jay Huff or Isaiah Jackson.<\/p>\n

Last season, the Pacers starting lineup of Haliburton, Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Turner had a net rating of +8.86<\/a>. Nembhard, Nesmith, and Siakam were on the floor with two different players for a total of just 18 minutes<\/a>, and Indiana lost those minutes by three thanks to a possession imbalance. That matches intuition suggesting a temporary step back might be coming for the Pacers \u2013 their new-look group has to build chemistry and has a drop in talent level.<\/p>\n

Why the Pacers will continue to have similar goals this season<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a reasonable thought that Indiana could win fewer games this season. They have their own first-round draft pick in 2026 and could have a solid selection yet are too good to outright tank. But the notion of a gap year solely on that basis misses the point of any NBA season for each team.<\/p>\n

29 teams won\u2019t be the NBA Champion in 2026. Many of those groups know that they\u2019re not even capable of doing so. Instead, some franchises embark on fact-finding seasons with the goal of developing players and gathering data.<\/p>\n

CORRECTS TO GAME WINNING BASKET, NOT 3-PT BASKET – Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates with forward Aaron Nesmith (23) and forward Obi Toppin (1) after making the game winning basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the closing second of the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo\/Julio Cortez)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Of course, every team would love to win every game. But it\u2019s not like the Pacers get nothing from their 82 games this coming season. There is a gap in expectations from 2025 to 2027, that\u2019s undeniable. But the opportunity in front of the Pacers \u2013 to develop some of their younger pieces, learn more about their group, and establish more versatility for the roster \u2013 isn\u2019t a gap in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to present a great opportunity in some form,\u201d Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said<\/a> of the year ahead. \u201cI saw a thing today where they had us ranked 20th or 21st in the league going into next year. That\u2019s good motivation. So we\u2019ll have a chance to have a real opportunity to help develop some guys in some real quality minutes. And we\u2019re trying to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some ways, the Pacers current roster build is ideal for their shaken short-term reality. If a team was forced to lower their ceiling and develop pieces for a year, they\u2019d want to give younger players as much playing time as possible. Fortunately for Indiana, almost all of their less-experienced players are already rotation pieces.<\/p>\n

Nembhard, Mathurin, Nesmith, Jackson, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, and Ben Sheppard all project to be rotation players for the blue and gold this year. All of them were drafted in 2020 or later. Huff is older but didn\u2019t debut in the NBA until 2021.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 8 of Indiana\u2019s 10 expected rotation talents that are still at a point in their career where development should be expected \u2014 T.J. McConnell and Siakam are the exceptions, and it\u2019s not like veterans can\u2019t improve.<\/p>\n

So one key goal of this season for the Pacers will be pouring into young talent. Carlisle has improved his player development abilities since coming to Indiana, and it\u2019s part of the reason he was given a contract extension<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the strength of our coaching staff is the ability to develop players,\u201d Buchanan said.<\/p>\n

On top of leaning into their younger talents \u2014 perhaps 2023 second-round selection Johnny Furphy or 2020 lottery pick James Wiseman could get playing time as well \u2014 the Pacers may be able to explore different ways of playing this season beyond their established identity.<\/p>\n

Haliburton is among the best, maybe the best, transition players in the NBA. He\u2019s a one-of-one passer and low-turnover player. Indiana\u2019s up-tempo style is so potent because of the star guard.<\/p>\n

Without him, Indiana will have to find the right balance of fine-tuning the way they will play in two seasons while also determining what works best for their 2025-26 group. Is it a slower pace? Smaller lineups, or perhaps bigger ones? These are things Carlisle and his staff can explore this year, and that versatility will last beyond one campaign.<\/p>\n

Slowing down may be better for the specific players Indiana has available this season. Siakam and Mathurin, in particular, can really get going as scorers in a face-up game. But how does that help Indiana once Haliburton is healthy and their old style returns? It\u2019s logical for the blue and gold to find the equilibrium between their typical rapid pace and the newer, unique lineups and tempo that will help them win this year.<\/p>\n

So, it is a gap year for the Pacers only under the umbrella of a championship-or-bust mentality. But between player development and stylistic considerations, plus growth in versatility, it is far from a year off for Indiana. There\u2019s still a lot at stake and a lot to learn. The franchise needs to nail it all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, OHIO – JANUARY 12: Jarace Walker #5 Andrew Nembhard #2 and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Indiana…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":190604,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[59660,1267,1260,5999,6322,6320,62,3374,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-190603","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-chad-buchanan","9":"tag-indiana-pacers","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-pacers","12":"tag-pascal-siakam","13":"tag-rick-carlisle","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tyrese-haliburton","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115126756401110753","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}