Indiana Pacers 2024-25 Season Preview: Don't neglect Indiana as an emerging force in the East!

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)The 2024-25 NBA season has officially kicked off! Let us break down some of its major questions, potential best and worst case scenarios and fantasy outlook for each of its 30 teams. Indiana Pacers (2023-24 finish, offseason moves and roster completeness: James Wiseman, Johnny Furphy, Tristan Newton and Enrique Freeman were added; Jalen Smith and Doug McDermott left.The Big Question is this: Was that just an off-the-radar run or are the Knicks and 76ers the real contenders to unseat the Celtics this season? Most discussions regarding an Eastern challenger to Boston this season has focused around these teams due to their respective big swings on wings. But should we give some consideration to the team that actually played Boston in the conference finals? At first blush, one may doubt a repeat performance by the Pacers during last season’s playoff run which saw them knock off an undermanned Bucks team that featured Giannis Antetokounmpo (and for two games Damian Lillard), as well as outlasting an all-but-depleted Knicks team before getting swept by Boston in three straight. But don’t discount their chances entirely just yet – as history may repeat itself this time around. Indiana often gets short shrift, however. Even before postseason injuries came into play, Indiana defeated Milwaukee four out of five times during regular-season action and posted an average scoring margin of over 120.0 per 100 possessions against them in regular-season play. Indiana kept them on a leash, forcing the Knicks into conserving energy during Game 3 before staving off elimination in Game 6 before rallying to win on the road for Game 7. They put on one of the greatest team shooting performances ever seen in NBA playoff history in Game 7. Though Boston shut out Indiana in the East Conference Finals (ECF), they should take note that three out of the four Pacer victories had led or tied in the last minute before falling. Even without their defense being able to stop any bleeding and Tyrese Haliburton missing two games due to injury, the Pacers were right in contention in terms of results-driven business; though as Dominic Toretto so often reminds us, “nearly having you” could mean someone else never getting their car back! But while pessimists might view the Pacers and see an Atlanta Hawks-like backslide into imbalanced stasis in 2020-21, more optimistic kinds might consider that they reached the Final Four while being far from complete. All players who played 100 postseason minutes for Indiana returned, including six who are 25 or under — providing immense untapped player development potential for this team. (That doesn’t account for their 2022 and 2023 lottery picks: Bennedict Mathurin was sidelined in March due to a torn labrum while Jarace Walker is currently trailing Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin on their depth chart).) After making their blockbuster trade for Siakam in mid-January, they posted the fourth best record and third best net rating in the East, as well as playing at an All-Star break win pace with Haliburton hampered by both hamstring and back injuries; showing promise for even greater impact when fully healthy–he arguably was one of NBA’s premier offensive performers during its inaugural half. Now they will get to see more of Haliburton and Siakam’s partnership that started to blossom late in the regular season before reaping large dividends during playoff time. Indiana outscored their opponents by 79 points over 383 postseason minutes when two All-Stars shared the floor, scoring an amazing 125.5 pp100 score. Had head coach Rick Carlisle been given more time and training camp to experiment with not just this pairing but with all his backcourt options — Haliburton, newly extended playoff aces Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell as well as healthy Mathurin and Ben Sheppard — he may have devised an even more potency offensive machine than what existed last season. Imagine this team finishing among the top six in offensive efficiency, assist rate, turnover rate, effective field goal percentage, pace of play, second chance points, fast break points and points in the paint in their last iteration – it should make opposing defenses very unnerved indeed! But equally challenging will be finding new answers on defense for an opponent that finished 28th last season in points allowed per possession (ranked 24th overall after trading Siakam away)! (But there is one silver lining: that the arrow’s pointed upward!) There’s some talent on Indiana’s roster in terms of defensive talent – physical wings Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith; veteran rim protector Myles Turner; Walker who may provide the necessary range and versatility, though probably not an “above-average unit”. An effective offense could make scoring less of a concern. Carlisle and Co. need only find suitable coverage for Siakam-Turner pairing, one which mitigates against opponents targeting Haliburton as well, for league average play from Siakam-Turner pair; then last spring may no longer appear like just an isolated event but as something more permanent than fleeting in Indiana basketball history. Should Haliburton remain healthy throughout, Indiana could potentially achieve one of the greatest offenses ever in NBA history, making Haliburton not just their star player but one of its very finest leaders guiding their offensive performance to great heights of success! Haliburton could still provide a tremendously effective offense, scoring at an outstanding pace even without him on the floor last season; their complementarity should make up for any miscues; however, making April and May too ambitious an ask is too great an ask. Indiana avoids a play-in round but loses to an experienced and better balanced opponent in Round 1, prompting more questions over how you build championship-caliber defense around Haliburton.Fantasy appealThe Indiana Pacers were one of basketball’s fastest and most efficient units last season – earning them widespread consideration as an invaluable fantasy asset. Haliburton played in all 69 games while dealing with injuries, averaging 20 points with 10 assists over his two full years on the floor despite that average. In fantasy drafts he should be one of your first-round selections while Turner remains an effective shot blocker who should be picked up during the fourth round, while Siakam offers an established 20-7-4 floor that makes up his current floor value. Turner should be considered in category leagues over Siakam due to Siakam’s declining defensive numbers and free throw percentage. When playing points leagues however, go with Siakam. Two late round players I like are Nesmith and Nembhard. Both players are efficient from the field and scrappy on defense at an acceptable price, while Mathurin remains an intriguing fantasy asset outside of scoring. — Dan Titus2024-25 scheduleThey just won 47 with Haliburton being limited for three months while half season of Siakam played and an array of young talent getting acquainted. My bet would be on taking over.