Indiana Pacers
The 2022-23 Indiana Pacers can be defined as an early-season Young Surprise Team that eventually had the wheels fall off.
What did we learn?
The Pacers started the season as pesky as EVER with their point guard of the future and now.
With Tyrese Haliburton leading the way and putting up blistering numbers, the Pacers looked like the Young Surprise Team that was promised.
Haliburton had all of the room to cook with Brogdon out of the kitchen (and in Boston), leading the charge for the Pacers’ fast-paced high-octane run-and-gun and run-and-gun some more offense. High-assist games for Hali were a regular occurrence. In November alone, he had seven games of 13+ assists and racked up 14+ assists five times in a six-game stretch.
Haliburton was a no-doubt first-time All-Star, putting up season-long numbers of 20 and 10 with 40 percent sniping from 3 on high volume of 7.2 attempts per game.
On Nov. 29, the Pacers were fresh off an Andrew Nembhard buzzer-beating 3 against the Lakers in LA, sitting at #4 in the Eastern Conference, averaging the third-most made 3s and third-most assists per game in the entire NBA.
Fast forward to Jan. 12 and the pesky Pacers were still doing the damn thing. A 23-19 winning record had them #6 in the East, and the Pacers were still top-5 in both made 3s and assists per game and No. 1 in fast break points.
But that’s precisely when Haliburton went down and out with an injury. The Pacers were toast without him, immediately losing 9 out of 10 games as the wheels fell off the wagon.
Against a more difficult second-half schedule, they were never able to get the wheels back on. But it cannot be reiterated enough that when this team was up and running at full steam, these Pacers were as pesky as ever, blasting past their preseason win total with two months to spare.
In addition to Haliburton’s brilliance, rookie Benedict Mathurin was so good that he was in early-season talks for both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year, an off-the-bench spark with one gear: pedal to the floor. Mathurin might have lost steam with the Pacers as the season progressed, but he always stayed attacking the rim and playing with a chip on his shoulder.
Mathurin led the team in free throws per game (5.8) and was First Team All-Rookie, scoring the second-most points (16.7) among all rooks behind only Paolo.
Myles Turner put years of trade rumors behind him, letting his game do the talking. He earned a contract extension by putting up career-high numbers, 18 points a night while remaining top-5 in the NBA in total blocks.
Buddy Hield did what he does best: let the 3s fly. Hield shot a sparkling 42.5 percent on high-volume 8.5 3-point attempts per game.
Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith proved capable of having big games given the opportunity presented. The former 2020 lottery picks might not be full-time starters in the NBA as they were for large portions of this season, but there is a spot in the NBA for them as role players at least.
It helped Rick Carlisle to have T.J. McConnell’s professional backup point guard skills available this season. McConnell is the embodiment of the peskiness that is at the Pacers’ soul.
The Pacers surged a little bit in March but took their foot off the gas over the last few weeks and didn’t make the play-in.
This season was still a success. The Pesky Pacers played a fun and aesthetically pleasing style of ball.
We know that a Young Surprise Team lies within.
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Additional Notes
Two sophomore slumps occurred in Indiana this season as Isaiah Jackson and Chris Duarte both saw their numbers dip with less usage.
Duarte dealt with ankle injuries throughout the season, missing 36 games.
Jackson led the team in total dunks again, but his shot away from the rim could use some work.
Always a fan of Jordan Nwora around here, the Pacers ended up with Nwora at the deadline in the KD to the Suns trade. That was a 4-team deal where the Bucks got Jae Crowder. The Pacers were a dumping ground and only had to give up a Juan Pablo Vaulet to the Nets. (Vaulet is an Argentinian drafted in the second round of 2015 who has yet to play in the NBA.)
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
This team should be a lot more fun than they are good. Under 23.5 wins.
Pacers 2022-23 record: (35-47)
Nope. The Pacers were plenty good in addition to being fun.
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What’s Next?
Three 1st-round picks at No. 7, 26 and 29. With one of the later picks, we would love to see the Pacers take Jaime Jaquez from UCLA.
The Pacers are projected around $25 million in cap space. Defense on the wing would be helpful.
Haliburton is eligible for a five-year, $204 million contract extension that would be the largest Pacers’ franchise history. Consider it done.
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Favorite Pacers Highlight of the 2022-23 Season:
New Year’s Eve Haliburton was COOKIN.
