Biggest holes for the Indiana Pacers entering this season
By Luke Parrish
The Indiana Pacers need help on the perimeter
There is nothing more concerning for the Pacers right now than their lack of perimeter defenders. Edmond Sumner was arguably the best on the roster until his torn Achilles shut down his 2021-22 campaign and left the Pacers in an even worse spot than they began with.
The other notable defender, at least hopefully, was T.J. Warren. He missed basically all of last season and does not appear to be ready for the upcoming season. That leaves Indiana in a horrific spot after coming off one of their worst defensive seasons in franchise history.
Myles Turner does an incredible job at defending the paint and clearing out shots near the rim but he cannot be expected to be the only defender out there. At some point, he needs his teammates to make his life a little easier and keep him fresh enough to contribute for a full 48 minutes.
This could be an important season for Oshae Brissett and Torrey Craig as they now appear to be the best defenders on the roster that are not named Myles Turner. Brissett showed a ton of flashes in his first season with the team last year and I expect similar results this season.
Until they prove they have fixed their defensive woes, the Pacers will not be a good enough team to hang with the best in the East.