ESPN sees Pacers bouncing back, but questions bench and Ivica Zubac fit

The Pacers won 19 games last season. They also reached the NBA Finals the last time Tyrese Haliburton was healthy.

So, yeah, predicting Indiana may require a wider margin for error than usual.

ESPN released its early Pacers season preview, giving their offseason a B-minus and ranking them 15th in its Basketball Power Index.

The primary reason for optimism is obvious. Haliburton is returning 16 months after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals. Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin remain. Rick Carlisle does, too.

Indiana also has Ivica Zubac, acquired from the Clippers at the trade deadline in a deal that ultimately cost the Pacers the No. 5 pick.

ESPN identified Zubac as the biggest X factor. He is a better overall center than Myles Turner, but perhaps not as natural a fit for Indiana’s speedy, motion-heavy offense. Zubac played just five games after the trade, was recovering from a broken rib and didn’t have Haliburton feeding him.

The other concern is the bench. Bennedict Mathurin is gone, McConnell slipped without Haliburton and Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. were the primary offseason additions.

Still, this is largely the same operation that reached the Finals. Haliburton has a history of making everyone around him better, and ESPN even argued he may be the best player from the 2020 draft, ahead of Anthony Edwards.

That should start a calm, reasonable online discussion. The Pacers probably aren’t contenders merely because Haliburton returns. They also probably aren’t anything close to a 19-win team.

The truth, as September previews occasionally discover, likely lives somewhere in between.