For most NBA teams, either they're good, or they're at least fun to watch for one reason or another.
This doesn't apply to the Indiana Pacers right now.
The Pacers aren't very good at the moment. They began the season with a 1-10 record, and their 105.3 offensive rating and 117.1 defensive rating rank as the second and eighth-worst in the NBA, respectively, according to Basketball Reference.
For some context, Indiana shares the same record as the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, who are both very, very bad. But at least there is still some excitement to be had when watching them play.
Brooklyn is objectively a horrible team, but it at least has a ton of young talent, especially rookie guard Egor Demin, who averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 52.9% from the floor and 50% from deep in his last two games. Plus, with Michael Porter Jr. as its main scoring option, it seems like a matter of time before he drops 70 in a game (my guess is that it will happen by the end of the calendar year).
And as for the Wizards, it's more of the same.
Alex Sarr, who probably should've been the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, is really coming into his own and looks fantastic. He's seemingly remembering that he is a legitimate seven-footer who can move like a guard and is becoming much more aggressive on both sides of the ball. Through 11 games, he averaged 18.5 points on 51.9% shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.5 blocks.
Plus, Washington has a lot of other intriguing players like Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly (who is out with a calf injury but has a lot of potential), and Bub Carrington, among many others. (Oh, and the 34-year-old CJ McCollum just averaged 30.7 points while shooting 51.7% from the field and 44.8% from beyond the arc during a three-game stretch).
Granted, these teams are in different situations than Indiana, given that they had low expectations anyway, but it is still telling regardless.
The Pacers have built a reputation as one of the most fun teams to watch across the league because of their playstyle and talent. But this season, that couldn't be further from the truth.
The Pacers' season has been brutal to start
Obviously the Pacers still have talent (though every NBA team does, if you really think about it).
Pascal Siakam is playing incredible basketball, and Isaiah Jackson is starting to look like a legitimate candidate to be Indiana's next full-time starter without Myles Turner.
However, the team is 1-10, dealing with a plethora of injuries, and just outright looks bad on the court (and it doesn't help that players like Jarace Walker are disappointing in a major way). The combination of all of this makes the team more sad to follow than anything, but at least a high lottery pick could be on the team's horizon (queue the AJ Dybantsa edit).
Fortunately for the Pacers, they are finally getting healthier. Andrew Nembhard has been back for a little bit since suffering a shoulder injury on opening night, and T.J. McConnell just returned against the Utah Jazz. Even so, they're not going to be successful this season without Tyrese Haliburton, and it's still probably going to be a little while longer before Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin see the court again.
The Pacers will be fine eventually. But right now, things are clearly not looking good in Indiana.