Indiana Pacers – From the NBA Finals to Tanking?

What a turnaround for the Indiana Pacers.

Last season, they almost won the NBA Championship. They took a strong, young Oklahoma City Thunder team to seven games. Had Tyrese Haliburton not gone down with a season-ending achilles tendon tear, who knows what could have been. The series was winnable, and the core of Hali-Siakam-Turner, with Nembhard and Nesmith, was competing with SGA and company. 

Now, they are one loss away from being the worst team in the league. What happened to them, and what does this mean for fantasy players who are Pacers fans?

The answer is quite direct and simple—injuries. The Pacers blew up the team that went to the finals by trading key piece Myles Turner to the Bucks, and the guys that were supposed to pick up the slack ended up hurt and not able to play.

Haliburton is expected to miss the entire 2025-2026 season, so there goes the best player.

Scorer Aaron Nesmith is out because of a knee injury. Obi Toppin is out as well, so there goes defense, size, and scoring. Rotation players Quenton Jackson and Johnny Furphy are also out. 

The good thing about this? Benedict Mathurin seems to be blossoming into a great go-to guard who could serve as a main scorer in the absence of Hali and Nesmith. Pascal Siakam is arguably still the best player in the line-up as it is now, but it is fortunate that he is getting some help from Mathurin. The Pacers are certainly hoping that Mathurin could stay healthy, as he just came from an injury he got during opening week.

Will the Pacers keep on losing, or will Mathurin and Siakam be enough to turn their fortunes around this season? Can they stay competitive in the Eastern Conference?

Indeed, what a turnaround for the Indiana Pacers.

For Daily Fantasy Players: 

Captain – Pascal Siakam 

Vice Captain – Benedict Mathurin 

Key Picks – Isaiah Jackson, Jarace Walker

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