Less than two weeks after the start of the regular season, the Emirates NBA Cup is set to begin. Every Friday from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28, as well as Nov. 26 and Nov. 27 will contain group stage games played on alternate, vibrantly colored courts. The tournament will culminate with the semifinals on Dec. 13 and the championship game on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas.
The Pacers have undeniably experienced a rocky October, entering NBA Cup play without earning a win in any of their first four games. Eight players were ruled out due to injury for Indiana’s most recent regular season contest, a 107-105 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday.
Tyrese Haliburton is of course out for the season with an Achilles tear suffered in game seven of last year’s NBA Finals. TJ McConnell has yet to play in the regular season while recovering from a hamstring injury that lingers from before the season began. Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin, Johnny Furphy, Taelon Peter and Kam Jones were all also unavailable on Wednesday for varying reasons and different timelines for return.
Indiana is certainly not at full strength, and it’s safe to say that the team is undergoing a troubling period of problem-solving and self-discovery. Illustrating that point are the facts that the Pacers have not yet won a game this season, and have had four different starting lineups in four games.
Nonetheless, there is basketball to be played and a trophy to chase. The NBA Cup begins on Friday, presenting the Pacers with four opportunities to add to the regular season win column and contribute to the effort towards winning the league’s in-season tournament.
The teams of each conference were separated into pools based on the 2024-25 regular season standings, and then randomly distributed across three groups of five. Indiana was assigned to East Group A, which also contains the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.
The team with the best record in each group’s round robin, along with the second-place finishing team in each conference with the best record, will advance to the knockout round. The remaining eight teams will compete in a single elimination bracket for the title.
Indiana is in a much more manageable group than many other 0-4 teams would be, considering that three of their four opponents finished below the Pacers in the regular season standings last season, many of which are in a similar position in the NBA hierarchy this season. The first is the Atlanta Hawks, who the Pacers welcome to Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Friday.
Atlanta Hawks
Amidst the flurry of injuries and roster changes plaguing Indiana’s start to the season, the Pacers host the Atlanta Hawks for their first East Group A contest. Atlanta is 2-3 and coming off a 117-112 in Brooklyn against the Nets, where star guard Trae Young notably suffered a currently unspecified knee injury. Young has been ruled out for Friday’s game, adding to the list of spectacular talents that will observe the action from the sidelines.
Aside from Young’s injury, the Hawks appear similar to the Pacers in the sense that they are still determining the identity of the roster and configuring the most optimal rotations after a period of roster turnover. The difference is that much of the roster volatility in Indiana is attributed to injury, while the Hawks acquired multiple key contributors in the offseason.
Chief among those acquisitions are Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who were sent from Boston and Minnesota respectively. The pair have made an immediate impact, as both are in the team’s top four in points and assists.
Atlanta has taken care of the basketball, defended the three and moved the ball well so far this season. However, the Hawks will take the floor without Young for the first time this season inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Despite Indiana’s injury troubles, this game is extremely winnable because of the absence of Young, the location of the game, and the idea that Atlanta’s roster hasn’t yet coalesced.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Pacers are fortunate that there is almost a month separating their first and second NBA Cup games. On Nov. 21 at 7 p.m., the Pacers will travel to Cleveland to challenge the Cavaliers. By that time, many of Indiana’s injured contributors will have returned to the lineup and the team may be performing at a level closer to last year’s postseason than the first four games of this year’s regular season.
Cleveland will most likely be the most difficult test of the group stage for Indiana, as the Cavaliers stand at 3-2 and are one of the favorites to win the eastern conference. That said, Max Strus and Darius Garland are currently sidelined with long term injuries while multiple other key contributors miss time early in the season as well.
Cleveland’s roster turmoil is similar to Indiana’s, the impact of which on their NBA Cup matchup remains to be seen. With only four group stage games, each one holds a great deal of weight in the chase to advance to the knockout round. If the Pacers were to walk into Rocket Arena and win, their chances of going undefeated and topping the group or escaping to the knockout round with one loss would skyrocket.
Toronto Raptors
At 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, the Pacers will travel north to take on the Toronto Raptors. Toronto’s bright, young core has started the season 1-4 and is showing few signs of improvement from last season. While in rebuild mode last season, the Raptors failed to qualify for the play-in tournament and appear to be a similar caliber of team this season.
If the Pacers are healthy and have discovered the identity of their roster without Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, the Pacers are likely the better team in comparison to the Raptors. The question of how that translates to results on the court will be answered in November, but Indiana is in position to achieve victory in Toronto.
Washington Wizards
The least threatening opponent in the eastern conference’s Group A is more than likely the Washington Wizards, who the Pacers will host at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 28. Washington is 1-3 and struggling with a roster composed of young, rising stars and veterans that have passed their prime.
If Washington stays the course, they’re headed for another season that ends without a postseason appearance. Especially inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Pacers will have a great chance to best the Wizards, a team that let up 162 points against Indiana in a regular season game last season.
Indiana’s chances of success
In a workable group and with time for the roster to heal and recover, the Pacers are in prime position to navigate the Eastern Conference’s Group A with one loss or fewer and advance to the knockout round of the NBA Cup.
It’s natural to doubt Indiana at this point in the season, considering its 0-4 start, but the Pacers will improve as their stars heal and continue to gel with one another. Prior to the completion of either of those processes, Indiana will take the floor inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse for their first in-season tournament game of the season. Regardless of how that first contest concludes, time will tell whether or not the Pacers are contenders in East Group A and the NBA Cup at large.
