The Indiana Pacers are 1-7 to begin the season. Though they are the reigning Eastern Conference champions, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly what's going wrong for them.
Indiana is among the most injured teams in the league right now, if not at the very top of the list. They entered the season expecting to be without Tyrese Haliburton due to an Achilles injury, but things suddenly went from bad to worse for the team.
In the preseason, T.J. McConnell suffered a hamstring injury, and he has yet to make his season debut a few weeks in. Furthermore, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, Johnny Furphy, among others, are all currently on the shelf due to injuries of their own.
This isn't the same Pacers team that made it to the NBA Finals less than a year ago. In fact, they're not even the same Pacers team they were on opening night.
Because of this, they have struggled in a way that even the biggest doomers couldn't have predicted. Not only are they tied with the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards for the worst record in the NBA, but their offense (which has been among the best in the league for the past few years) looks like a mess.
Following Indiana's loss to the Nets on Wednesday, Ben Sheppard explained exactly what's going on with the team and why they have yet to find their rhythm.
The Pacers' offense looks unrecognizable this season
What makes Indiana's offense so special is that its system is incredibly difficult for other teams to replicate it. Focusing on pushing the tempo, improvising, moving the ball around, and making quick decisions, the Pacers' fast-paced offense is a special unit in the league, and it's a huge reason for their recent success.
However, without key players like Haliburton, Nembhard, or even Myles Turner, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks in the offseason, the Pacers' offense doesn't look as effective. And Sheppard just confirmed that.
"Last year we played a lot faster than we did last year. ... This year we're getting outworked and outpaced," Sheppard said after the Pacers' 112-103 loss to the Nets.
Sheppard: "Last year we played a lot faster than we did last year. ... This year we're getting out worked and outpaced.'
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) November 6, 2025
The Pacers are still playing hard and somewhat keeping up with their identity. They still push the tempo, and they currently lead the NBA with 338.3 passes per game.
However, the rest of their offense looks like a disaster.
Through eight games, the Pacers are scoring 111.6 PPG, shooting 40.8% from the field and 30.9% from beyond the arc, and averaging 23.8 APG. All of these numbers rank fourth-worst in the NBA or lower. (And for good measure, Indiana's 73.5 FT% is the fourth-worst in the league as well).
The Pacers are still trying to do their part, but it seems that other teams are catching on, and maybe even doing it better (for now, of course). Without their top guys, it becomes much more difficult for their offense to open up and run efficiently. And, as if it wasn't already clear before, this is just further proof that teams can't just plug in different players and hope to have an offense like Indiana's. And this even includes Indiana.
Things likely can't get much worse for the Pacers from here on out, but that's not really saying much. There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, but if their start to the season is any indication, fans should not expect their offense to carry them to victories. At least not for another year or so.