The first half of the 2024-25 season is officially over, and it was a rocky one for the Indiana Pacers. After last season's Eastern Conference Finals appearance, many expected the Pacers to take that next step and solidify themselves as potential title contenders. While this did happen, the Pacers took the long way to get there.
Despite a 10-15 start to the season where it looked like the Pacers would be a Play-In team at best, they turned things around drastically over the last few months. The Pacers are now 30-23 and own the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana has lost three of their last five games (and probably should be on a five-game losing streak), so the All-Star break has come at a great time for them. Outside of Pascal Siakam, who earned his first All-Star nod as a member of the Pacers, nobody else on the team is set to partake in the festivities this weekend.
Here is a full All-star break primer, including the outlook for the rest of the season.
Table of contents
- The Pacers' playoff odds
- Injury updates ahead of the All-Star break
- Strength of schedule
- Second half outlook
The Pacers' playoff odds
The Pacers are two games ahead of the No. 6 seed Detroit Pistons and 4.5 games ahead of the No. 7 seed Orlando Magic. Furthermore, they are 10.5 games ahead of the No. 11 seed Philadelphia 76ers (who would miss the Play-In if the season ended today). Barring a major collapse, the Pacers are most likely going to at least make the Play-In Tournament and should make the playoffs with ease.
To take it a step further, Basketball Reference gives the Pacers a 98.2% chance of making the playoffs and a 91.4% chance of earning a top-six seed, which would allow them to skip the Play-In.
Injury updates ahead of the All-Star break
The Pacers only have two injured players to monitor the rest of the way--Myles Turner and Jarace Walker. Turner suffered a head/neck injury six minutes into the Pacers' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on February 6. The big man has yet to suit up since, but the hope is that he will return in Indiana's first game after the All-Star break against the Memphis Grizzlies.
As for Walker, he missed the Pacers' overtime victory against the Washington Wizards due to a back injury. Like Turner, the Pacers are hoping for Walker to return immediately following the All-Star break.
Strength of schedule
As it stands, the Pacers have the 12th-easiest schedule remaining. They still have to play the Oklahoma City Thunder once, the Cleveland Cavaliers twice, and the Grizzlies one more time, who are three of the best teams in the league. On the flip side, the Pacers still have the Wizards (twice), Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors, and Brooklyn Nets (twice) on the schedule.
Second half outlook
The Pacers are in a good spot heading into the All-Star break. They are a top-four team in the East, and they have already defeated the Boston Celtics (twice) and the Cavaliers to prove they are a legitimate threat in the conference. On top of having a good roster as is, the Pacers are thriving on continuity and natural progression, which was especially evident after the team's lack of activity at the trade deadline.
There is still a lot of basketball left. However, there are no real reasons to think the Pacers will not make the playoffs and prove to the basketball world once again that nobody wants to meet up with them in a seven-game series.