The Pacers have struggled to find a player to man the backup point guard spot, and there’s not a clear answer in sight, writes Dustin Dopirak for The Indy Star.
Tyrese Haliburton is out for the season with an Achilles tear. Steadfast backup T.J. McConnell is out until around November 9 with a hamstring strain, and Kam Jones, the No. 35 pick in the 2025 draft, is out for a similar timeframe with a back injury.
Indiana had bad luck with the veterans it brought in with the hopes of filling the spot. Delon Wright sustained a head injury in the preseason and was subsequently waived, and Monte Morris had a calf strain that prevented the Pacers from offering him a deal. Cam Payne made it through the preseason healthy, but Dopirak writes that he was unable to integrate into the Pacers’ system.
“*It didn’t work out,*” said head coach Rick Carlisle.
With few options heading into the first month of the season, Dopirak writes that third-year guard Ben Sheppard may be asked to tap into his collegiate point guard roots. He also notes that another free agent move is not out of the question.
“We’re looking at everything,” Carlisle said. “The waiver wire. We’re looking at people’s nephews and uncles and everything else, but good point guards aren’t growing on trees. We’re going to have to be creative.”
We have more from around the Pacers:
One very creative solution to the aforementioned point guard problem comes in the form of 2025 54th overall pick Taelon Peter, Dopirak writes in the same piece. Despite never averaging more than 2.3 assists per game in college, Peter has shown a knack for playmaking in the preseason, dishing out nearly 3.3 assists to 1.3 turnovers in 24.1 minutes per game. Dopirak reports that during a preseason game, Carlisle asked him if he’d ever played point guard, and in a later game, proceeded to let him run the offense for the second unit. “It’s easy to sprint to the corners and knock down shots,” Peter said. “But being able to get everybody where they need to be and know every spot on every play, it’s something that is a challenge, but it’s something they’ve been great about helping me transition into. They’ve been really gracious with me throughout the process.”
Bennedict Mathurin is looking forward to having what he considers a consistent role, Dopirak writes in a separate piece. Mathurin’s scoring ability has been a useful tool for Indiana when its offense bogs down, but has also sometimes clashed with the team’s fast-paced, ball movement-based attack, which has led to Mathurin being moved in and out of the starting unit as needed. With the team more in need of his scoring than ever, Mathurin is likely to be a full-time starter for the first time in his career. “I’ll have a little bit more freedom to go out there to be myself, you know, within the system,” he said. “I look forward to going out there and accomplishing a lot of great things.” Carlisle wants him to make quick decisions and take advantage of easy reads, rather than play hero ball, feedback which Mathurin is taking seriously. “It’s just about watching a lot of film, seeing what’s in front of me and taking advantage of every little thing, whether it’s about timing or spacing,” he said.
Indiana is also desperate for help at the big man position. For new Pacer Jay Huff, that provides an opportunity he’s been waiting for, Dopirak writes in a profile of the big man. This marks the fourth home for Huff in four years, having played for the Lakers, Wizards, Nuggets, and Grizzlies, in chronological order. While he was able to score in Washington, last season was something of a breakout for Huff, as he averaged 6.9 points and 0.9 blocks in 11.7 minutes while shooting 40.5% from three. “Opportunity at the right place and right time is everything in the league,” Huff said. “I think that was just what I was waiting for.” While not comparing them as players, Chad Buchanan, general manager of the Pacers, believes that Huff can slot in well as a facsimile of the role previously played by Myles Turner. “When a need came up for a stretch five this summer, he was the name that our analytics staff has always targeted,” Buchanan said. “He was just a great fit for us. His age, his shooting, his IQ. So we thought this is a good match for us.”