The Indiana Pacers were expected to take a step back from the 50-win season that ended in the NBA Finals in 2024-25, primarily due to Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating Achilles injury that has ruled him out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. As a matter of fact, in FanDuel’s preseason odds to win the championship, the Pacers slotted in at 21st place less than six months removed from their NBA Finals appearance.
Even so, the 1-13 record posted by the Pacers through the first 29 days of the season is as confounding as it is alarming. Indiana is winless on the road, with their lone win occurring inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 1. That win was preceded by a five-game losing streak that opened the season, and followed by an eight-game losing streak that remains active on Nov. 19.
There are many reasons for and causes of the disconsolate beginning of the Pacers season. The most notable among them, however, are extensive injuries and abnormally poor shooting.
Extensive injuries
It’s no secret that the Pacers have been uncannily unhealthy throughout the first month of the season. The injury conversation must of course begin with Haliburton, the point guard who led Indiana to an Eastern Conference title. Up to nine total players have been simultaneously unavailable this season, with six currently listed on the injury report.
Currently, that list includes Haliburton, Obi Toppin, Kam Jones, Aaron Nesmith, Johnny Furphy and Quenton Jackson. Notably, players on that list combined for 61 points in the team’s only victory this season.
The butterfly effect of several key players sitting on the sidelines extends beyond the simple fact that those players are not stepping on the floor and contributing themselves. The active roster has been in a constant state of flux, with 10 different starting lineups taking the floor in 14 games. A lack of roster continuity has a significant negative impact on the cohesiveness of a team, as evidenced by a Pacers team that often appears disjointed.
Additionally, the excess of Pacer injuries has ravaged Indiana’s roster depth. As a result, the quality of Indiana’s bench and its production is much lower than most, if not all other NBA teams. So far this season, members of the Pacers bench have accounted for 20.6 minutes per game, the fourth most in the league.
Those minutes have generated a points per game number that ranks in the bottom five of the league, and a +/- that ranks last in the league. The injuries have eaten away at the depth of the roster, which is in turn depleted and consistently underperforming in comparison with the rest of the NBA.
Poor shooting
Regardless of who is on the floor, the Pacers are shooting the ball incredibly inefficiently. The team has had a success rate of 40.2% on field goal attempts, the lowest in the league. Indiana’s 3-point percentage is 29.9%, also the lowest in the league.
The shooting issue is a widespread one that is displayed in almost every individual on the roster, and not just the players signed to two-way contracts or through the hardship extension. Pascal Siakam, a 2024-25 NBA All-Star, is shooting over 5 percent worse from the field so far this season compared to last season. Andrew Nembhard, another starter in the NBA Finals, is shooting 6 percent worse this season compared to in 2024-25.
Indiana’s lack of an ability to score expands across the entire team, even when possessions otherwise run smoothly, and is limiting Indiana’s potential for success.
The near future
In theory, a team that features a 2024-25 All-Star and multiple key components of an NBA Finals run won’t struggle to score this much for an entire season. In theory, as the roster regains its health it will regain its strength and therefore perform better on the court.
If both of those theoretical improvements become reality, the Pacers could turn their season around and begin substantially digging themselves out of this early season hole. Time will tell whether or not this truly is a lost season following the Finals appearance, and if a return to the postseason is reasonable for an Indiana Pacers team that continuously experiences adversity.
