The Indiana Pacers won 47 regular-season games last year and made a surprising playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers, who open their season at the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, didn’t lose any starters or key reserves during the offseason.
Yet the oddsmakers and bettors don’t believe the Pacers can do that again. Defending champion Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Miami are more likely to reach the NBA Finals than the Pacers, according to the betting lines.
Reserve guard Ben Sheppard knows the team must prove itself all over again.
“It’s important to remember that last year doesn’t matter,” Sheppard said. “All the success we had last year, that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a new season.”
The Pacers will continue to be the fast-paced, high-scoring unit that led the league at 123.3 points per game. Power forward Pascal Siakam averaged a team-high 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists after being acquired from Toronto, then signed a four-year max contract in June.
Two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton (20.1 points, league-high 10.9 assists) conducts the offensive show and center Myles Turner (17.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks) anchors the defense.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, but I think we have the talent and the characteristics to be able to do that,” Siakam said of another deep playoff run. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs and we’ve got to focus on our task and improve every day, but I do think we have the pieces.”
Their opening night opponent would just like to experience winning at a more normal rate after enduring the worst season in franchise history. The Pistons won just 14 games, convincing owner Tom Gores to clean house.
General manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams were fired. Former New Orleans executive Trajan Langdon was named president of basketball operations and J.B. Bickerstaff was chosen as Williams’ replacement after getting fired by the Cavs.
The roster was also remade with Langdon acquiring a number of veterans to complement the young core group. Most notably, Tobias Harris signed a two-year contract as a free agent after starting for Philadelphia the past 5 1/2 seasons.
Harris averaged 17.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season and will start at power forward. Malik Beasley, another free agent acquisition, and Tim Hardaway Jr., acquired in a trade with Dallas, will compete for minutes at the wing spots.
Detroit’s long-term success will be based on the development of its recent high draft picks. Cade Cunningham holds the distinction of franchise player and signed a max rookie-scale extension this summer.
Cunningham (22.7 points, 7.5 assists) should increase his efficiency with more proven veterans around him. Fellow guard Jaden Ivey and center Jalen Duren struggled during Williams’ one season but have looked more comfortable this preseason.
“We will be a work in progress all season long, and that’s our mentality going into this year,” Bickerstaff said. “We will not be a finished product and we don’t expect to be. This is something where we’re looking at the big picture, but our aim is to continue to get better until we feel like we’re that complete team that can compete at the level that we’re all looking to. We’ve got our foundation in.”
