The Indiana Pacers weren’t going to be the same this year; we knew that going in with Tyrese Haliburton on the shelf. What we expected was to see Pascal Siakam leading the way as Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith found their footing as more proactive players in Haliburton’s absence.
There would be more losing, of course, but there would be something for Indiana to hang its hat on as it could treat this season as a lab for experimentation while trying to continue to win games.
Instead, the Pacers lead the league in missed games and in the salary of the players missing games. I do not wish to dismiss anyone’s absence or injuries, but there is a difference between missing some of the deeper rotation players if you’re the Oklahoma City Thunder (second behind the Pacers in missed games) and Indiana not seeing its expected contributors.
The Pacers have only seen five players appear in all 10 games — though Pascal could have played on Sunday instead of resting if needed — and only Siakam and Nesmith have played in the majority of games this season when looking at the guys playing in the rotation during the NBA Finals. Also of note, the Pacers have seen every single guard injured at some point if they began the season on the roster, and even some of those who joined to fill that exact void with some having since been cast out.
The result is a team 30th in field goal percentage at 39.6%. And the record is 36.2% for a season, set by the Milwaukee Hawks in 1955. Statmuse says that the Pacers are currently on track for the worst shooting season since 1960. Indiana is the only team shooting below 30% on three-pointers and also sports a fourth-worst in free-throw percentage. No one plays worse offense in the NBA, though the defense has been alright, but it’s not creating turnovers it can convert into points.
The Pacers are 1-9 as they lack nearly everything that made them successful last season.
We thought we’d get to see what Nembhard would look like running the point consistently. We thought we would get to see Obi Toppin throwing down dunks. We wanted to see T.J. McConnell being a shark in the water. We were going to learn if Bennedict Mathurin could be something approaching a star player that can get his own shot (and he looked it before his injury). We thought we might see what Indiana had at center in a functioning lineup. Maybe even we would find out about Quenton Jackson and Johnny Furphy as NBA rotational players.
Pacers are 1-9. They have NBA’s worst eFG% and TS% by wide margins. 9 players were OUT.
This is eviL PacersrecaP Live: https://t.co/dxYOYQ3o8N
-How we got sent to the first circle of basketball hell
-What penance we’ll be serving to try and cleanse the evil spirits
-TJ Awards pic.twitter.com/LvTWBpoLwG
— iPacers.com (@iPacersblog) November 10, 2025
The ghoulish start has sent our two podcast hosts into the first circle of basketball hell.
We’ve seen none of that. Instead, we’ve seen three center lineups, a dunk champion get some spot minutes for a few games, two guys on 10-day hardship contracts play large roles, Jarace Walker struggle in an overtaxed role, and nothing close to a team that even a tanking team would want to throw out there as the team has lacked point guards more often than not.
Instead of seeing a glimpse of the future through the distorted lens of a season without Haliburton, it’s been a nightmarish version of the Pacers filled with injury and disjointed play.
This isn’t fun.
Maybe the return of McConnell can bring something enjoyable back, but it would be nice to see an injury report that doesn’t look like a CVS receipt.
Injury Report for tonight’s game against the Warriors:
Taelon Peter – Questionable (right groin soreness)
Aaron Nesmith – Out (right forearm contusion)
Pascal Siakam – Out (rest)
Johnny Furphy – Out (left ankle sprain)
Quenton Jackson – Out (right hamstring strain)
Bennedict… pic.twitter.com/lcZwjBFJra
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 9, 2025
At least they have some cool new uniforms to bring joy in these dark times.