With Tyrese Haliburton on the shelf next season, the Indiana Pacers must make Pascal Siakam an even bigger focal point of their offense if they want to compete.
Despite next season looking like a gap year for Indiana, the team may have other plans. They still have a talented roster even without Haiburton or Myles Turner, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this offseason. Additionally, they are in a wide-open Eastern Conference, and they have serious potential to make some noise.
If the Pacers want to shock the basketball world (again) and re-establish themselves as contenders, they need to make the right adjustments. With Andrew Nembhard running the point next season, Indiana's offense is expected to look a lot more traditional, relying a bit more on half-court sets and plays. In order for them to maximize this offense, they must run the offense more through Siakam and let him do what makes him great.
Pascal Siakam is going to be crucial to the Pacers' success next season
Ever since the Pacers acquired Siakam from the Toronto Raptors in January 2024, he has elevated the team at every level and quickly became an integral part of their success. While the expectations are a lot lower for next season, this has not changed.
The Cameroon native has stepped up numerous times for the Pacers during their last two playoff runs, even taking home this year's Eastern Conference Finals MVP award. Furthermore, he was arguably their most consistent player all season, and that remained true during the NBA Finals. If the Pacers want to return to the playoffs, they must rely on Siakam even more.
Next season is expected to look grim for Indiana. As they look to navigate through life without Haliburton and Turner, there will be plenty of questions they need to answer. This includes how different their dynamic will be, as well as what their center situation is going to look like, and if it will be good enough. As it stands, it is completely fair to expect that the team will go through its fair share of ups and downs. Whether the good will outweigh the bad remains to be seen.
Regardless of what next season may look like, this is going to be a good opportunity for the team to showcase some of their talent and experiment a bit. Currently, all eyes are on guys like Bennedict Mathurin, Jarace Walker, and Isaiah Jackson. However, for a completely different reason, Siakam is another player to monitor as he will need to step up and be the main guy in Indiana's offense next season.
It is going to be very difficult, but another deep playoff run is not completely out of the picture for the Pacers next season. However, in order for them to make this happen, they need to shift their focus to Siakam and let him elevate the team even more.