Pacers' Biggest Question Mark This Season Is Painfully Obvious

The Indiana Pacers are heading into the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season with big-time goals. Tyrese Haliburton and company want to pick up where they left off when the star point guard went down with a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On paper, the Pacers look to have the talent to make a run. At the very least, their starting lineup has a chance to be elite.

While the starting lineup looks great, there are some questions about the bench.

ESPN recently named the bench unit as the biggest question facing Indiana.

"Aside from Haliburton's brilliance and late game heroics, one the strengths for the Pacers during their NBA Finals run two seasons ago was the depth of their bench. Some of that depth has dwindled in the past year," they wrote.

"Bennedict Mathurin has moved on, T.J. McConnell declined a bit last season without Haliburton and the Pacers haven't found another key reserve to pick up the slack. Rick Carlisle has been one of the best coaches in the league at pushing the right buttons with his rotation, and especially if the team plans to ease Haliburton back from injury at all, they will need to lean on their depth to get through the regular season."

Losing Mathurin could cause a drop in second-unit scoring. Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers' front office tried to fix that potential problem by signing veteran wing Kelly Oubre Jr. in free agency.

McConnell should be fine. However, he is getting older and will enter the upcoming season at 34 years old.

Outside of those two players, Indiana will be leaning heavily on Jarace Walker and Obi Toppin off of the bench. Either Jay Huff or Larry Nance Jr. will be the primary backup center.

Obviously, there is enough talent that the second unit should form a quality bench. The Pacers have the pieces to win against opposing benches.

That being said, players will need to play up to their abilities.

Only time will tell whether or not Indiana is able to get back to being a championship caliber team. There are many who still believe that it was a fluke the Pacers were even in the NBA Finals.

With Haliburton back and full health and the addition of Ivica Zubac alongside of Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith in the starting lineup, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic in Indiana.