Predicting the Indiana Pacers’ win total in the 2022-23 season

Almost everyone in league circles does not hold lofty expectations for the Indiana Pacers next season. With the franchise having just entered the gates of rebuilding, the first year of such will be more about the growing pains as they seek to reap the rewards in the near future.

In fact, the Pacers have a very good chance at finishing with one of the league’s worst records. This would normally be a death sentence for an Indiana team that prides itself on annual competitiveness, but piling up losses next season will actually bolster their rebuild, so to speak.

With that in mind, how many games will the Pacers win next season? The schedule is not yet out, but looking at early projections could perhaps spawn a concrete number.

How many games will the Indiana Pacers win next season?

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who believes that the Indiana Pacers can be a threat next season. For example, Sporting News has the team finishing with just 25.5 wins next season, which is tied for the second-lowest mark in the association with the Oklahoma City Thunder and just below the San Antonio Spurs. Points Bet have the same projection for the Blue and Gold.

For purposes of realism, giving the Pacers a maximum ceiling wins total of 30 should be justified. However, as the roster is actually not the worst one in the league, their floor should be in the low 20s.

Last season, Indiana raked in just 25 wins despite playing like a 32-win squad. While they finished with the fifth-worst record, the Pacers logged only the seventh-worst net rating at -3.5. Other teams at that juncture include the Washington Wizards, which won 10 more games than them, and the Los Angeles Lakers, which garnered eight dubs more.

Injuries and a jarringly bad season-long performance in clutch situations bore this incongruence, but having a less experienced roster next season in an improving conference could negate any potential advantages brought by possibly better health overall and better luck in late games with Tyrese Haliburton as the captain of the ship instead of the overburdened Malcolm Brogdon.

The East is already home to a lot of win-now teams, and with the play-in tournament now an official fixture in the league, the competitive pool should be more robust than the actively tanking crop of teams.

For those with penchant for exactitudes, a win total of, say, 25, the same as last season, seems like a fair crack at the whip. The Indiana Pacers may win more or less than that, but whatever it is, the team is unlikely to veer away too much from that number, unless some surprising 2017-18 season-like run transpires (no, please).