I member

https://www.instagram.com/reel/De8ReCFOVFn/

Siakam 25 PPG 6 RPG 3 APG 55% FG , 50.0% from 3 FG , Haliburton 20 PPG 10 APG 4 RPG 53% FG , 35% from 3 in the Pacers first 3 Games of action in Week 1 .

I died when I saw this live

These threads are simply TOO GOOD to have for this season only. We need to keep them around like we did with the Hickory for a few years (or longer). PLEASE DO NOT RETIRE THEM AFTER THIS YEAR PACERS, I BEG OF YOU!!!

1. We have a great starting big man, then we have a solid 3rd string big man (Huff), and finally we have a guy who should be playing in the Big 3 (Nance).

2. Jarace Walker has not shown anywhere near enough for me to stick around. The good news he has a nice $8mil contract that is very tradeable and very expiring.

3. I'm slightly concerned about TJ, I know we are looking for that next guard via the draft. First with Kam Jones and now Braden Smith, but I feel like we need to have a look at players already in the league.

4. James Johnson will fix everything when he signs his standard non-guaranteed deal in early November.

Now please don't get into an accident 🫣

I can remember seeing Paul George and Gordon Hayward get injured in real time. Their legs literally snapped in half. JDub’s injury was eerily reminiscent of those guys’ injuries. I don’t know if any of you were fans of Gordon Hayward, but I definitely was when I was younger and seeing him and Paul George get injured like that was agonizing.

I know we don’t like OKC but man that is brutal. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. As an Indiana fan, I witnessed 2 of my favorite players (at the time) getting hurt like that and I understand. I hope his return turns out less like Hayward and more like PG.

Sorry, does anyone know where I can buy the sweater that the dude is wearing? Looks dope

Feels like OKC players are breaking down after going through 2-3 years of deep playoff (Finals and Conference Finals) runs. Especially with their style of play, the wear and tear is bound to make them brittle, especially trying their best to come back and not fully recovering because the team is making run.

I remember last year when we still believed that "the standard is the standard" , and knew we couldn't afford to have Andrew Nembhard injured, because he was the closest PG we have to Hali, then he gets injured during the 1st game against OKC, which starts the domino effect of injuries that followed.

A Golden State fan mentioned that their team went through the same thing in 2019-20, after KD left, Klay tore his ACL, and Steph broke his hand at the beginning of the season. They decided to tank shortly after that.

The other team that was also in those deep playoff runs (conference finals and finals) was the Knicks, but since they don't play with the same defensive / offensive intensity as the Pacers or Thunder and they don't run as much, maybe they're not as battered. 🤷🏻‍♀️

-----

Anyway, the growing list of injuried players at the beginning of the season is worrying, to the extent that I breath a sigh of relief when we get through a game with no injuries.

Stating with wanting to plan for the future, ended up drafting as a fan 😅

there’s no shame in having one 👊 just getting crafty with wood scraps from my laser cutter 😂

Once TJ is back and drew + nesmith + Zu are fully healthy so Kelly and Jay come of the bench I’ll feel a lot better, but we’re carrying so much dead weight right now and even once we’re fully healthy I feel like our team isn’t quite as deep as I’d like it to be. Q and Slawson have been great, so much hustle and fight in those two, but they’re not consistent at all on offense, Q shooting 39% from the field and Slawson only 2ppg. Just not good enough offensively for 2nd stringers on a championship contender. Their contributions are mostly on the defensive side of the ball and that would be fine except the bench goes downhill from here offensively and the offense is where we’re struggling right now. As a team we’ve only shot over 30% from three once this season. I want to give Jarace more time but we really don’t have much of it. His defense hasn’t been good, hes shooting below 30% from the field this season and his playmaking and passing aren’t nearly as good as in preseason. He does absolutely nothing for us. Larry Nance Jr has been straight buns this season. Starters have been good but the bench outside of Obi has been so lackluster and the shooting has been abysmal so far which is a huge problem for a team that got to the finals on elite 3 point shooting and depth and is trying to run it back with the same game plan. Our guys can’t hit wide open shots. Hali would be averaging 17 assists rn if they could. Maybe it’s just a slow start and we’ll bounce back (I know we started slow in 2025) or maybe Rick is working some developmental magic, but I’m sick to my stomach right now watching everyone shoot 30% from the field outside our top 4 guys. Are y’all worried or am I overreacting

Is Rick too rigid? I feel that adhering strictly to that time limit cost us what was actually a nice close game until late, given our available lineup. I've seen Haliburton and Nesmith ward off the teams many times in those last minutes (or if not Nesmith, Haliburton and Nembhard).

I wonder actually if coach sacrificed a game to make a point. No one other than Nesmith and Nembhard is capable of stepping up and directing traffic with Ty at this point. Maybe offensively, but even there....

The dead stare answer by Rick at the presser, pure silence for 20 seconds, to the question on Nesmith's minutes was classic. Followed by the informative, "He's got a 20 minute limit. At least as of today he does." I fully expect to see Hali, Nesmith, Nembhard, and hopefully Zu by next game and then we can assess how this season going.

Pascal thinks that it is as simple as boxing out opponents on rebounds, especially when they tag team and crash at the same time.

Another theory, after watching the short Myles interview, is that he is actually mentoring these young guys on the Bucks like he did in Indy. There is not much Nesmith can do about that per se (before long, we may need a couple young legs—when is Furphy expected back?)

I have zero doubt that they’ll make the post season and make it far but I think the team could use some more depth who would you guys want and who do you think we could realistically get?