Sports · Basketball · 4 hrs ago
Pacers rely on Haliburton’s return and Zubac addition to rebound
The Indiana Pacers are counting on Tyrese Haliburton’s return and Ivica Zubac’s arrival to help them contend again in the 2026/27 NBA season.
Indiana reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2024 and the 2025 NBA Finals, where Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 against Oklahoma City.
Injuries hit the team again last season, when it won a franchise-low 19 games as Haliburton recovered.
The Pacers’ championship ambitions remain, but their return to contention is not guaranteed, and they were projected to win 44.5 games in early October.
Aaron Nesmith returned to practice after a hamstring injury and appears likely to play in the season opener, while T.J. McConnell’s availability remains uncertain after he missed the preseason with an undisclosed injury.
Indiana opens its regular season against New Orleans on October 21, and the team expects Haliburton and Zubac will need time to build their pick-and-roll chemistry.
Indiana is counting on Tyrese Haliburton’s return and the addition of center Ivica Zubac to help it return to contention.
The Pacers won 19 games last season, the fewest in franchise history, while Haliburton recovered from an Achilles injury and the team was ravaged by injuries.
Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, which Indiana lost to Oklahoma City.
The Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2024 and say their championship ambitions have not changed.
At the beginning of October, oddsmakers projected Indiana to win 44.5 games in the 2026/27 season.
- Who
- The Indiana Pacers, led by returning star guard Tyrese Haliburton and new center Ivica Zubac.
- What
- Indiana is relying on Haliburton’s return and Zubac’s addition to rebound and return to contention.
- When
- Ahead of the 2026/27 season.
- Where
- Indiana.
- Why
- The Pacers are looking to recover after winning a franchise-record-low 19 games last season amid injuries and Haliburton’s recovery.
Oddsmakers
Indiana Pacers
Projected outcome
Oddsmakers
At the beginning of October, oddsmakers projected the Pacers to win 44.5 games in 2026/27.
Indiana Pacers
The team is counting on Haliburton’s return and Zubac’s addition to help it return to contention.
Assessment of last season
Oddsmakers
The projection reflected a season in which Indiana won just 19 games.
Indiana Pacers
Haliburton said the team had standards it did not meet and needed to get back to.
Indiana advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Pacers led in the first quarter of Game 7 before Haliburton tore his Achilles; Indiana lost the game to Oklahoma City.
Indiana was ravaged by injuries while Haliburton recovered and won 19 games, the fewest in franchise history.
Oddsmakers projected the Pacers to win 44.5 games in 2026/27.
Aaron Nesmith returned to practice after a hamstring injury suffered in Indiana’s second preseason game.
- Last season’s wins
- 19, the fewest in franchise history
- 2026/27 projection
- 44.5 wins at the beginning of October
- Key returning player
- Tyrese Haliburton
- New starting center
- Ivica Zubac
- 2025 NBA Finals opponent
- Oklahoma City
What people are saying
You can take [our preseason rankings] as disrespect, but at the same time, you got to understand we put ourselves in that position by the way we played last year.
never wavered
Finding that magic again, that’s no guarantee.
We have a great coach who figures things out.