Ivica Zubac has yet to make his debut for the Indiana Pacers since they acquired him from the Los Angeles Clippers last month as he deals with an ankle sprain. But according to head coach Rick Carlisle, the 28-year-old is expected to play this season (h/t Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star).
"Yeah, he'll play this season," Carlisle said about Zubac. I don't know when. He's doing better, but he's not there yet, and we're not going to send a guy out there to play who isn't 100 percent."
Zubac hasn't played in an NBA game in over a month, and though he has yet to play alongside his Pacers teammates, there are reasons to be excited about what he will bring to the table. And if he can get as many reps in as possible this season, it should pay dividends for when Indiana is ready to re-enter the title picture in 2026-27.
Ivica Zubac should be a game-changer for the Pacers
The Pacers entered this season with arguably the weakest center room in the NBA. But now, they have one of the strongest, and the Zubac acquisition is the biggest reason for that.
Throughout his time with the Clippers, Zubac has established himself as an elite paint presence in every area of the game. He is a top-tier interior defender, and he is a great defensive anchor. Last season, he finished sixth place in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned All-Defensive Second Team honors. Additionally, with him leading the way, Los Angeles had the third-best defense in the league.
The Pacers haven't been a legitimately good defensive team in quite some time, even before Myles Turner's departure last summer. With Zubac now on the roster, they should see a major boost and become a much more well-rounded team.
Furthermore, Zubac is a career 61.6% shooter from the field, and he has averaged 10.2 rebounds across his last five seasons. For reference, Indiana hasn't had a player average 10 or more rebounds in a single season since Domantas Sabonis did it in 2021-22. This should be a massive area of improvement for Indiana.
Additionally, he is a fantastic screen-setter, and he should be a great pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton once he returns next season.
The one elephant in the room is that bringing Zubac back this season could ruin "the tank." With a little over a month left in the season, the Pacers are 15-47 and own the second-worst record in the NBA. As it stands, they have a good chance to secure a top-four pick in this year's draft and land a potential game-changing prospect. And winning a bit too much might mess up their outlook.
However, Zubac alone won't drastically improve Indiana for the rest of the season (and they will certainly lose a lot more games moving forward regardless), and it will be good to see how he can mesh alongside players like Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.
Fortunately for the Pacers, it seems like his debut will happen sooner rather than later.