The National Basketball Association is less than two weeks away, and it is once again time to preview every NBA franchise. I will be covering the teams in the Eastern Conference and my colleague, Joel Beatton, will feature teams in the Western Conference. Today we are featuring the Indiana Pacers.
Key Acquisition
The most notable acquisition made by the Pacers came at the centre position, as Indiana signed James Wiseman of Nashville, Tennessee to a two-year deal worth $4.8 million. Wiseman will be a reserve player in backing up Myles Turner of Bedford, Texas.
Wiseman is joining his third NBA franchise. He was with the Golden State Warriors for the 2020-21 season and part of the 2022-23 season, and with the Detroit Pistons for 24 games during the 2022-23 season and the 2023-24 season. This past season in Detroit, Wiseman averaged 7.1 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game, along with a field goal percentage of .613, and free throw percentage of .706.
Fantasy Star
Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh, Wisconsin has emerged as one of the elite players in all of basketball. It has been over two years since he was involved in one of the most intriguing transactions in the NBA in recent memory (traded from Sacramento Kings in a blockbuster deal that saw Domantas Sabonis go to northern California), and so far the deal has worked out just fine for Indiana. This past season, Haliburton was considered the best shooting guard and the second best point guard. He led the NBA in assists (752 for the season, and 10.9 per game). Haliburton also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals, along with a field goal percentage of .477, three point percentage of .364, and a free throw percentage of .855.
Projected Finish
This is an experienced group led by Haliburton, former Toronto Raptor and power forward Pascal Siakam of Douala, Cameroon and Tuner. Scoring points is not the problem for this group. Last season the Pacers led the NBA with 123.3 points per game. It was point prevention, as they allowed 120.2 points per game. Only the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz allowed more at 120.5 points per game.
The question is did the Pacers do enough to improve their defense in acquiring reserve center Wiseman. On the surface, the answer is no. Expect a team a few games above the .500 mark and a third place finish in the Central Division.
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