Nearly beating the best team in the league during game 7 of the 2025 Finals, to start off bottom-of-the-barrel this year, what has happened to the Indiana Pacers? As fans all know, the Pacers’ NBA roster has been decimated by injuries starting in the first game. According to Elie Deglaoui of 8points9seconds.com, he said, “Indiana has been playing without some of their main guys, including: Tyrese Haliburton (achilles), Benedict Mathurin (toe), Obi Toppin (foot), and Aaron Nesmith (knee)” (Deglaoui, 2025). This list does not even include some of the Pacers’ rotation players who have been out for a while now. If fans can think of one positive note that can come out of this disastrous season start would be one high draft pick in next year’s draft.
After a 1-13 start, this does not necessarily mean the team is tanking; they simply are not having much luck on their side this season. For the fans, it can be hard watching your favorite team perform so badly after coming off one of the best seasons in franchise history. The Indiana Pacers have time to turn the season around; it is just a matter of whether they are able to become healthy by the end of the season. Add in the loss of center Myles Turner to free agency, and this has been a rough start. This loss, along with all the injuries has made this team crumble. Indiana has had to rely on players from their G-League team to come up and help rescue this team in any way possible.
According to Kyle Wright of 8points9seconds.com along with the numerous injuries, the Pacers are missing shots at a historic rate. The last team to shoot this poorly was the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls. That team also had just come off a finals appearance, and also had terrible luck with injuries starting the new season. The Pacers have entered this week with a team field goal percentage of just 40.1%. The worst percentage in the NBA. The next closest is the Memphis Grizzlies with 43% (Wright, 2025). Could this be a part of the Pacer’s struggles? Or is it just the decimated roster? It has the possibility to be either situation the Pacers are facing right now. According to CBS Sports, the Indiana Pacers are 29 out of 30in points per game (108.9) and 27th in opponent points per game (123.4).
This season for the Pacers might show fans how easy it is to go from contenders to pretenders. Obviously, when teams do not have their playmakers out on the court, it makes winning a game challenging. When the team is at the bottom of the league rankings in major categories, fans begin to get discouraged. Fanatics do not even want to watch the Pacers play because they are mightily struggling on the court. If fans are looking for some good news, Benedict Mathurin is back with the team, practicing and playing. He returned to court on November 17. His return could impact the team majorly, in a good way.
Where will the Pacers head when they get their stars back? It is still quite early in the season, so once the Pacers get their team back healthy, they might have a chance of turning the season around. The in-season tournament, known as the NBA Cup, seems to be out of reach for this struggling Pacers team, but there is possibility of making the play-in games in the post season. In order to accomplish this feat, Indiana will need to be seeded from seven – ten to even have a chance at competing in the play-in games. The Pacers will be fighting for one of the final two spots in the Eastern side of the playoffs. The NBA season is long, and there might still be a ray of hope for the Pacers this season.
