1 Surprising flaw in Pacers roster if franchise plans to be title contender

The Indiana Pacers had a fantastic year last season. Despite entering the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, the Pacers, who finished the year with a 47-35 record, made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. And despite getting swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics, the series was much more competitive than it showed on paper.

Considering that the Pacers had not been to the playoffs since 2020 (and had not won a playoff game since 2018), it was incredibly impressive how close they were to making it back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.

Furthermore, the team has a lot to look forward to for the foreseeable future. The Pacers ended the 2023-24 season as the No. 1 scoring offense in the league. Plus, following the mid-season acquisition of Pascal Siakam and the All-NBA jump from guard Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers are likely to contend for a while.

However, when looking at Indiana's current roster in more detail, there is an interesting pattern that could make it difficult for the team to remain in the title picture--they are a very young team.

Currently, the Pacers have just two players who are at least 30 years old on the roster--T.J. McConnell (32 years old) and Pascal Siakam (30 years old). Additionally, McConnell and center Myles Turner are the longest-tenured NBA players on the roster, and both have been in the league for less than 10 years.

If the Pacers want to make an immediate playoff push, adding veterans who could provide leadership, a veteran presence, and ideally, playoff or Finals experience could provide a huge boost to Indiana's championship hopes.

Adding a veteran is important for the Indiana Pacers

By no means is Indiana's youth an urgent problem that needs to be fixed immediately. However, it is something the team should address.

Entering the 2023-24 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder were the third-youngest team in the NBA. Though they still ended as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, they got eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs.

Furthermore, we can even look at the Celtics, who are fresh off their first title win since 2008. Their duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are just 26 and 27 years old, respectively. However, they have been contending for a title for nearly the last decade together.

In addition to the two naturally maturing and improving, veterans Al Horford and Jrue Holiday played a major role in helping the Celtics stars win their first championship. Plus, Derrick White, who was an incredibly important piece in Boston's championship run, just recently turned 30.

Adding a veteran is not priority No. 1 for the Pacers. However, it is noteworthy that there are so few experienced players on the roster. If the team wants to contend for a title right away, this may be an area the front office looks at and aims to work on ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.