The 2025-26 Indiana Pacers roster has nowhere near the quality they had to end the 2024-25 campaign. Tyrese Haliburton was already out to begin the year, making it rather difficult for them to pose much of a threat to begin with, but the Pacers have endured a deluge of injury woes that may already kill their season before it even has a chance to get off the ground.
But on Monday night, they faced their rival Milwaukee Bucks at home and smelled blood — fighting back from a double-digit deficit to tie the game at 115 courtesy of an Aaron Nesmith layup in the dying embers of the game. The Pacers put up such an admirable fight, only for them to fall to a Giannis Antetokounmpo fadeaway from around 20 feet at the buzzer, giving them a 117-115 loss, which is their sixth defeat in seven games to begin the new campaign.
In season already full of challenges for the Pacers, the last thing they need is yet another one to pile onto the adversity they've already been having difficulties overcoming. But for head coach Rick Carlisle, he and his team just have to keep pushing through this mountain of adversity and perhaps see the light at the end of the tunnel at the end of the day.
“This is all you can ask for. We were down double digits again in the fourth quarter. We fought back to tie it. This journey is difficult, but important. We've all got to keep our eye on the ball and keep fighting,” Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.
It's not quite clear how much fight these Pacers have left in them, as a loss like that must be very demoralizing. But as long as Carlisle is on the helm, do not expect this Indiana squad to simply throw in the towel.
Pacers run on fumes amid 1-6 start
Just to put in perspective just how many injury problems the Pacers have had to deal with this season, five of their featured rotation players during the NBA Finals were out on Monday night against the Bucks. Joining Haliburton on the mend are TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Obi Toppin. Carlisle, in trying to cook up something to keep the Pacers alive, played 13 players in their 117-115 loss to the Bucks.
The good news is that the Pacers re-acquired their 2026 first-round pick, so in case they cannot get it together, they will have a high lottery pick in what many expect would be a stacked draft.
