The Indiana Pacers will have to find a way to replace Tyrese Haliburton for next season after he tore his Achilles during Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He won't play at all next season.
Haliburton is the engine that runs the Pacers offense, so replacing him is borderline impossible. Not one single player is going to be able to do the job because of everything he does for them.
Yet, it's a task that the Pacers must figure out before next season rolls around. They will have two new starters next year with Myles Turner departing, as well.
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Figuring out the starting lineup for next season is fairly easy for the first four spots. Andrew Nembhard will be the point guard, while Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam will be in their normal spots.
Having Nembhard start at the point guard spot allows Bennedict Mathurin to slide into the two-guard spot. He started about half the season while Nesmith and Nembhard were hurt this past season.
The center spot will likely be occupied by either Jay Huff or Isaiah Jackson once he's officially re-signed. That means that T.J. McConnell will still come off the bench.
McConnell will have to play more minutes next season. The Pacers kept him around 18 minutes per game last season, but he might have to play closer to the 26 minutes he played during his second year with Indiana.
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Replacing the tempo and randomness that Haliburton plays with is going to be a challenge. Nembhard doesn't play at the same speed that Haliburton does.
McConnell certainly plays with pace, but he's not the 3-point threat that Haliburton is. Ben Sheppard is going to see more minutes next season, too.
Rookie Kam Jones has a chance to break into the rotation, but it will likely be Johnny Furphy who breaks in as a newcomer. Jarace Walker will firmly be in the rotation all season long, as well.
Sheppard might have to take on more ball-handling duties, which is not something he is used to. That's something he's going to have to develop if he's going to be a long-term fit with this roster.
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