3 Media Day storylines to keep an eye on for the 2024 Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers will host media day tomorrow, marking the unofficial start of the 2024-25 calendar. It’s an important season for the Pacers as they look for playoff success for the first time in half a decade, but they’re still looking for answers about their future.

A large part of the squad comes from last season, but the high proportion of youth in the squad makes several results for the coming season seem plausible. Indiana hopes to make a run at the Eastern Conference Finals starting in 2024, a tall hurdle but a goal the Pacers understand.

During media day, several of the team’s top talent will discuss the roster’s key storylines, including continuity, growth and more. The top three things fans should pay attention to tomorrow revolve around the future of the team.

How important will continuity be?

At least 12 and possibly 13 of the Pacers’ 2023-24 players will be back on the roster next season. It’s an almost identical group. The entire rotation of last year’s team, minus Jalen Smith (who was not in the postseason mix), returns to repeat last year’s success.

The question is how much this continuity will help the team. It usually takes a squad a few games or weeks to build chemistry at the start of a campaign. For Indiana, that might be less of a concern given their shared history.

But will this advantage last throughout the season? If not, how else could Indiana be a better group than last year to compete with other teams? That is the question they must answer with their piece.

The majority of the team’s rotation consists of pre-prime students, so there is some belief that internal development can improve the team. Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Isaiah Jackson, Obi Toppin, Ben Sheppard and Bennedict Mathurin all plan to be in Indiana’s rotation and have four or fewer years of service in the NBA. They could improve foreseeably.

How much continuity will help the Pacers may depend on how much these young players improve and how many of them take a step forward. It’s a safe game for Indiana since they have a high floor, but it will be an important storyline for 2024-25. On Monday, players can voice their opinions on how a very similar squad can be better.

Young people come in to replace those who leave

The two players the Pacers left this offseason, Smith and unsigned Doug McDermott, were replaced by younger talent. On the wing, Johnny Furpy was added via the draft to McDermott’s position. In the reserve center, Smith’s place was filled by James Wiseman.

Indiana got younger at both positions. Furphy is still 19, over a decade younger than McDermott. Wiseman is over a year younger than Smith. While none of these players plan to be in the rotation for the Blue and Gold to open the campaign, a big question this year will be how impactful the newcomers can be and what potential they show.

The Pacers are trying to win games. Of course, they also hope to develop their younger talent – like all organizations in the league. But winning now comes first. After the team’s success last season, they should have less patience when it comes to dealing with mistakes made by inexperienced players.

Of course you have to have some tolerance, but how much remains to be seen. With the limited opportunities Wiseman and Furphy have, one will be watching closely to see what they put on display on the hardwood. With the team’s uncertain future at the center position and never-ending search for wingers, one goal of the season is to learn more about these two. Head coach Rick Carlisle’s thoughts on his two new players (and possibly a third in Cole Swider, although he’s a bit older at 25) will be noteworthy tomorrow.

Will there be improvements in defense?

The Pacers were among the bottom ten teams in defensive rating last season. Things picked up a bit for a short time after Christmas, and they were closer to average after the All-Star break. But in most cases, the colors blue and gold struggled on the less glamorous side last year.

This season, Indiana’s ceiling will be much higher if they can get more stops. “It was about keeping the boys off the field. I think that was our biggest weakness,” general manager Chad Buchanan said of his team last week. “We [allowed] a lot of pressure on the rim. And that also means, as they say, you have to be able to guard your garden. You have to be able to keep the guys in front of you.

Indiana knows they need to get more stops to become an elite team. With a nearly identical roster, many will wonder how the team can be better defensively. Can they change their scheme to be more efficient on defense? Will a streamlined emphasis on rebounding help? Could anyone significantly improve on this?

This will be a central theme at media day and is perhaps the most pressing question on the field for the Pacers this season.