4 Major Takeaways from the Indiana Pacers 2023-24 Schedule

Back-to-Backs, Stars, and Road Trips

Indiana opens up the season on October 25th vs the Washington Wizards, the same team they faced on opening night in 2022 where they lost 107-114. This is the seventh time in the last eight years the Pacers have started a season off at home.

This season is a bit different from the past few however, for the first time since 2021, the Pacers have true aspirations to make the NBA playoffs and fans are excited to see what the new additions of rookies Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, and offseason acquisitions Bruce Brown and Obi Toppin can do in the blue and gold.

Seven of Indiana’s first nine games will be at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse including a five-game homestand from November 3 to November 9. The first-ever In-Season Tournament game against Cleveland will be on November 3, followed by a matchup with the Charlotte Hornets and rookie Brandon Miller the following night.

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs visit Indy on November 6th which is a game that will most likely be very highly anticipated by the Indiana Faithful and the five-game homestead wraps up with back-to-back games against the Jazz and Bucks on November 8 and 9, respectively.

Aside from the matchups with Milwaukee and Cleveland, both Central Division rivals, the rest of the Pacers’ home games are against teams that missed the playoffs the previous year, which provides some relief for Pacers fans asking for an easier schedule to start off the season.

The Pacers have a total of 13 back-to-backs on the season, with the first occurring in the aforementioned five-game homestand in November. They will also play two straight games in Los Angeles on March 24 and 25, facing the Lakers on Sunday and the Clippers on Monday. This means that Indiana will only have to travel during seven of their 13 back-to-backs.

For Pacers fans looking to see when the NBA’s superstars come to Indiana, Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Denver Nuggets visit Gainsbridge on January 23, with the new-look Phoenix Suns coming to Indianapolis three days later. The Pacers will make the trip to Ball Arena on January 14 to face the Nuggets in what will be Bruce Brown’s return game in Denver.

For fans wondering when Indiana will get another swing at Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings, they come to town on February 2.

Indiana has a six-game road trip from January 12-21, which is quite a bit but not as much as the previous year’s seven-game road trip, which was the first of that length since 1986. This six-game trip also includes two back-to-backs very close to each other, with the first one being in Denver and Utah and the second being in Sacramento and Portland.

The Pacers will be put to work before All-Star Weekend in Indy, having 3 road games in a row before going back to their home turf to host the midseason festivities.

Following All-Star Weekend, the Pacers will host Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies on January 28, the Warriors and Stephen Curry on February 8, Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on February 25, and LeBron James and the Lakers on March 29.

Indiana will finish off their season on April 14th, facing the Hawks, as they did in the 2019 season finale. The Pacers have the 9th easiest Strength of Schedule, according to Positive Residual, with 8 rest advantages and 9 disadvantages.