Why the Pacers’ ‘worst nightmare’ is not a genuine concern for the team’s future.
The Indiana Pacers are among the most exciting teams currently in the NBA. They have an excellent core and are one of the youngest teams in the league. Last season was their most successful campaign in years, making an Eastern Conference Finals appearance for the first time since Paul George and co. brought them there in 2014.
Furthermore, the Pacers were the best-scoring offensive team last season and have a fun roster. Led by Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, the Pacers are in a position to contend for a title now and in the long run. This is especially true given how many rising stars they have on the team, such as Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Aaron Nesmith, to name a few.
The Pacers seem to believe in the roster as currently constructed, and this was clear following their offseason moves. Indiana made very few external additions, but they made sure to bring back roughly every player from last season’s conference finals team. It seems evident that the Pacers are banking on natural progression from their players as they inch closer toward legitimate contention.
While this is hardly a bad idea (at the very least, the Pacers deserve to run it back with their core after last season), there is a world where it does not pan out and none of their players, especially their young ones, take that next step in their development.
In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Dan Favale named the Pacers’ potential failure to “take a step forward” as their biggest nightmare for the 2024-25 season. While this is a fair argument, it should not be a genuine concern for the Pacers or their fans.
The Pacers will be fine in the long run regardless of next season’s performance
Given how much stock the Pacers front office has put into the roster and their future, it would be highly disappointing if the team fails to take a step forward next season. However, it is not the end of the world for the team if they remain stagnant or even manage to get worse.
Favale puts it perfectly right away: “Progress isn’t linear.” This is exactly right. Just because a team or player fails to make a massive jump after an impressive campaign does not mean they will be unable to make that expected leap later. Right now, the prime example of this is the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics won a championship just a few months ago, but some would say they should have won their first under Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown five years ago. They went through a lot of adversity and certainly took some steps back (most notably their horrific 2020-21 season), but they ultimately got to the place everybody knew they would.
While it is not as extreme for Indiana, this is a similar path they could follow. Last season was awesome for the team, and nobody should doubt their contention. If they fail to make that next step next season, it is way too early to panic.
Furthermore, at worst, the Pacers remain a team firmly in playoff contention if they stay stagnant. There are certainly worst situations for the team to be in. This is assuming they avoid a colossal regression next season, of course. But given how talented the team truly is, this seems like an extremely unlikely possibility.
