Pacers backcourt in crisis mode as injuries to guards mount

Last season, the Indiana Pacers' incredible depth at the guard position helped propel them to the NBA Finals. This season, they're scrambling to find enough healthy bodies to field a team.

Indiana knew this season would be challenging after All-Star Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals, but the team did have multiple options to cover for Haliburton's minutes. The team plans to have Andrew Nembhard slide over from shooting guard to start at point guard this season. It had enough extra guards last season to play a relentless pressure defense, but that might have to change given all of their injuries.

T.J. McConnell is just one of Indiana Pacers' walking wounded

Veteran T.J. McConnell averaged 12 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals in the Finals — but he's out for at least a month after injuring his hamstring. At age 33, don't expect coach Rick Carlisle to rush McConnell back into action.

The Pacers' other backup point guard, Ben Sheppard, started nine of his 63 games last season, providing strong defense off the bench. He's missed all of the Pacers' preseason games and still isn't fully participating in practices, though the Pacers haven't revealed his injury.

At the draft, Indiana traded for the No. 38 pick to land second team All-American guard Kam Jones, who averaged 19.2 points and 5.9 assists for Marquette last season. He's out with a back injury and unlikely to return before the season starts.

The pressure is on Bennedict Mathurin

With so many guards out, the burden of backcourt scoring will fall squarely on the shoulders of Bennedict Mathurin, the No. 6 pick from the 2022 draft. Mathurin started 49 games in 2024-25 and averaged 16.1 points, but his minutes and opportunities vacillated wildly in the playoffs. Against the New York Knicks, Mathurin had two games of 20+ points — and two where he played less than nine minutes.

The Pacers are going to need Mathurin to produce in what figures to be ample playing time, especially while they're short-handed early in the season. He's a dynamic scorer, but Mathurin has to do better than the 1.9 assists and 1.9 turnovers he averaged last season. He'll also need to be more consistent from three-point range, where he's shot 34.2% for his career.

It's also a big season for Mathurin because he's in the final year of his rookie contract. The 23-year-old will no longer be on an affordable deal after this season, and the Pacers will have to make a decision on their long-term plans for him.

He'll get plenty of chances to show his value in the season's first few weeks. while the Pacers have to face some of the best teams in the Western Conference. They open with the defending champions, play the Golden State Warriors twice, and go on the road to play the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

It's a brutal way to start the season missing so many players. But if the Pacers can survive it, they'll have reinforcements coming — just a lot later than they'd prefer.