Pacers Rumors

Pacers Notes: Siakam, Bryant, Walker, Bradley

Pascal Siakam lifted the Pacers into the NBA Finals with the kind of performance the team envisioned when it traded for him in the middle of last season, writes Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. Siakam was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals after capping a tremendous series with a 31-point night. Indiana officials believed his talent on both ends of the court, along with the championship experience he gained in Toronto, made him the perfect addition to take a young team to new heights.

“Well, if you have the right player to build around, it can happen much faster than you think,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “Getting Tyrese (Haliburton) made it very clear what our identity as a team needed to be. We needed to be a fast-paced team with shooting, and we had some good shooting at the time. The Siakam trade took things to another level.”

Siakam made an immediate impact after being acquired in January of 2024, averaging 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the rest of the season and helping Indiana reach the conference finals. Taylor notes that his leadership skills became evident after losing that series, as he invited his teammates to his home during the offseason to further build their chemistry.

“We brought in a champion, and then you brought in someone that’s been there before … someone who had to work his way up,” Myles Turner said. “He’s a G League champion, G League Finals MVP, and (an) All-Star. (He’s) someone who’s also seen the highs and lows and (has) that championship experience. There’s only so much I can tell guys. When you have someone who’s actually been in trenches, who has actually felt what it feels like … it’s so underrated, just the emotions this time of the year. You don’t sleep. You lose hair. You can’t explain that if you’ve never been here before.”

There’s more from Indiana:

  • Thomas Bryant was moved to tears during the Pacers’ celebration Saturday night, per James Boyd of The Athletic. It’s not a moment the backup center could have expected earlier in the season when he was stuck on the end of Miami’s bench. His fortunes changed after James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson both suffered Achilles tears, prompting Indiana to acquire him in December for the low price of a 2031 second-round pick swap. Bryant enjoyed one of the high points of his career on Saturday, contributing 11 points, three rebounds and one block in 13 minutes. “It’s a lot of emotions, man, just going through the past year of just the ups and downs of the NBA,” he said. “Playing, not playing, being totally out of the lineup, getting spare minutes here and there. And then, getting traded and not really knowing what the future might hold, but you just know you wanted to come contribute to a team and try to help them win in any way possible.”
  • Jarace Walker was on crutches as he celebrated with his teammates, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. The second-year power forward suffered a sprained right ankle early in the fourth quarter while battling for a rebound. He had to crawl off the court as New York got possession of the ball, and he needed help to get to the locker room. “It’s an ankle,” Carlisle confirmed. “He’s on crutches. He’s young. That’s good. I did not see a replay of the play, so I don’t know how far turned over it was, how much weight. But when a guy goes down and stays down like that, you’re always holding your breath.”
  • Tony Bradley was declared active shortly before game time, but Carlisle opted not to use him in the wake of a left hip injury he suffered in Game 5, Dopirak tweets. “He was available but unable to really run and extend at full speed,” Carlisle explained.

Pascal Siakam Named Eastern Conference Finals MVP

Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals as Indiana closed out New York in Game 6 Saturday night. Siakam prevailed in a close race, topping teammate Tyrese Haliburton by a 5-4 margin in voting by a panel of media members (Twitter link).

Both players were outstanding in leading Indiana to its first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years. Siakam averaged 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists throughout the series and delivered 31 points in Saturday’s closeout game.

Haliburton posted 21.o points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game during the series and finished Game 6 with 21 points and 13 assists.

“First of all, shoutout Indy, man,” Siakam said during the trophy presentation (YouTube video link). “It’s been such an amazing experience for me so far from the first day I landed here, like the love’s been amazing. (General manager Chad Buchanan), (president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard), just unbelievable, man. First-class organization, I’m just so happy to be here. And tonight, after a bad Game 5, we wanted to bounce back. I have 100% belief in my teammates. Whenever we’re down, we always find a way, and we did that tonight.”

The Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy, which is named in honor of Larry Bird, was introduced three years ago. It was won by Boston’s Jayson Tatum in 2022, Miami’s Jimmy Butler in 2023 and Boston’s Jaylen Brown in 2024.

The Pacers will continue their pursuit of their first NBA title when the Finals begin Thursday night in Oklahoma City. The complete Finals schedule can be found here.

Aaron Nesmith Ready For Game 6; Tony Bradley Cleared To Play

7:00pm: Bradley will be active, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.


6:12pm: Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith has responded well to treatment on his sprained right ankle and should be ready for a full workload in tonight’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).

In his pregame session with the media, coach Rick Carlisle said the team has been giving Nesmith extra rest to aid the healing process, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. That includes cutting down the preparation routine he normally does to get ready for games. He played just 16 minutes in the Game 5 loss — finishing with three points, two rebounds and a steal — but wasn’t listed on the team’s injury report for tonight.

With Nesmith limited, backup swingman Bennedict Mathurin logged 25 minutes on Thursday, his largest total of the series. Mathurin was the Pacers’ most productive player in Game 5, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.

“He’s learned a lot,” Carlisle said of Mathurin (Twitter link from Dopirak). “There’s an experience factor of playing in the games. … He’s a better man for the experience.”

Indiana is less certain about the status of reserve center Tony Bradley, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Sources tell Scotto that Bradley is still being treated for his injured left hip and will be a game-time decision. Bradley got hurt in Game 5 when he was fouled on a layup attempt.

Bradley didn’t play in the series opener, but Carlisle began using him regularly after the Knicks inserted center Mitchell Robinson into their starting lineup. If Bradley is unavailable, Carlisle may have to turn to Thomas Bryant, who has played nine total minutes over the past four games.

Pistons Have Interest In Naz Reid, Myles Turner

The Pistons are “known to covet” a big man who can space the floor, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports in his latest Substack article (subscription required) that the team is said to have interest in both Naz Reid and Myles Turner.

Reid followed up his Sixth Man of the Year campaign in 2023/24 with another strong season for the Timberwolves in ’24/25, averaging 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game across 80 outings (17 starts). He has made 39.5% of 5.4 three-point attempts per game over the past two seasons.

Turner, who was drafted 11th overall by the Pacers in 2015 and has been the team’s starting center for the last decade, averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 30.2 minutes per contest across 72 games this season. The 29-year-old knocked down a career-high 39.6% of 5.5 three-pointers per night and has played a key role in getting the Pacers within one game of an NBA Finals appearance.

It remains to be seen whether the Pistons have a viable chance to land either player, Stein acknowledges.

Reid holds a $15MM player option for next season and the Timberwolves have made it known they’d have strong interest in working out a new deal with him if he declines that option, Stein writes.

As for Turner, multiple reports have indicated that Indiana is well positioned to re-sign the longtime Pacer in unrestricted free agency this summer, and Stein confirms that the team has conveyed a willingness to go into the tax next season to keep its roster together.

As we detailed earlier this week, the Pistons could potentially create nearly $17MM in cap room without making any cost-cutting moves, but it would mean renouncing their rights to key free agents like Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Dennis Schröder. If the club operates over the cap, it could offer the full mid-level exception, worth a projected $14.1MM, to a free agent, but wouldn’t be able to exceed that figure without a sign-and-trade.

Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Paul Reed handled big-man duties for Detroit in 2024/25. While that trio was effective, none of the three is a threat from beyond the arc — they made a combined 25 three-pointers on the season, with Duren not attempting a single one.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Knicks, Edgecombe, Hornets, Raptors

After taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers‘ high-octane offense only managed 94 points in a Game 5 loss in New York. As Jamal Collier of ESPN writes, that total was a playoff-low for the Pacers, who also turned the ball over 20 times, the most turnovers they’ve committed in a game this postseason.

We’re a resilient group,” star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said after the game. “We always want to respond when things don’t go well after a game like that. We understand what the stakes are. … We’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything.”

Despite the wire-to-wire defeat, All-Star forward Pascal Siakam is confident Indiana will rebound with a strong home showing tonight in Game 6, according to Collier.

You’re going to have bad games,” Siakam said. “This is the NBA, and there’s going to be times where a team is going to play hard. In fact, they’re going to beat you.

It is just all about us, man. It’s always been us against the world, and I don’t expect it to change. … We are 3-2 in a series, and we have an opportunity to go back home and show what we’re made of.”

Here are a few more notes from around the East:

  • ESPN insiders Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Zach Kram and Chris Herring list some keys to watch ahead of Game 6. Kram views the health and play of Aaron Nesmith as the Pacers‘ biggest X factor, while how well Jalen Brunson holds up on defense will be critical for the Knicks.
  • Rival executives believe the Hornets will target V.J. Edgecombe if he’s still available at No. 4 in next month’s draft, according to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, who hears the Baylor guard had an “excellent” interview with Charlotte. Unsurprisingly, O’Connor has the Hornets selecting Edgecombe — who’s also the fourth-rated prospected on ESPN’s big board — at No. 4 in his latest mock draft.
  • According to O’Connor, several rival teams think the Raptors are leaning toward selecting a prospect who can contribute right away rather than a long-term project with their lottery pick. Toronto holds the No. 9 pick in June’s draft. For what it’s worth, O’Connor has the team picking Washington State wing Cedric Coward.

Poll: Who Will Win Knicks/Pacers Game 6?

The Pacers and Knicks are the only two teams left standing in the Eastern Conference, as each team seeks to seal a ticket to Oklahoma City to face a rested and waiting Thunder team.

Indiana jumped out to a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, aided, in part, by a massive comeback in what has become a pivotal Game 1 in New York that saw the Knicks melt down in the fourth quarter. On the brink of elimination, the Knicks won a wire-to-wire victory against the Pacers on Thursday night to extend the series to at least six games.

Now, the two teams will head back to Indiana as the Knicks seek to continue their road dominance and push the series to a Game 7 back in Madison Square Garden. New York is 6-2 on the road during the playoffs, while the Pacers have only lost four games all postseason, two being to the Knicks.

The Knicks, as a franchise, are 0-15 in series in which they’ve faced a 3-1 deficit, and the last instance of an Eastern Conference Finals team surrendering a 3-1 lead was in 1981, when the Celtics came back to beat the 76ers.

Both the Knicks and Pacers have engineered their fair share of miracle comebacks this playoffs, with the Knicks overcoming 20-point deficits twice against the Celtics and once against the Pacers, while Indiana has had at least one massive comeback in each series so far, against the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Knicks.

In Game 5, the Knicks were able to tap into a defensive gear they had struggled to maintain throughout the playoffs, limiting stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam to a combined 23 points on 20 shots, while Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns took turns dominating offensively. The Knicks also seemed to find success with bench units that coach Tom Thibodeau had been reluctant to turn to before this series, with Landry Shamet, Delon Wright, and Precious Achiuwa all finding success in limited minutes.

The Pacers have yet to lose two games in a row in the playoffs, and have won games following a loss by an average of 18.3 points. They are also hoping to be bolstered by Aaron Nesmith returning to form after he played just 16 minutes in Game 5 while struggling through an ankle injury. He is no longer listed on the injury report. Haliburton has vowed to be more aggressive getting downhill in Game 6, after the Knicks’ increased defensive intensity seemed to take him out of his game and limited him to just seven shot attempts.

The Knicks will be looking to their wings to knock down open shots. While OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are each averaging 16 points per game, they’re shooting 29% and 33% from three, respectively, and have been unable to take advantage of the open looks created by the attention Brunson and Towns command. On the other side of the coin, Pacers shooting guard Andrew Nembhard has been uncharacteristically quiet, averaging just 9.0 points and 2.6 assists per game for the series after averaging 14.6 PPG and 6 APG in the first two rounds.

Brunson and Haliburton have proven themselves to be two of the most clutch performers in the sport, which will make any contest that’s tight going into the final five minutes that much more exciting.

While it can be expected that the star tandems of Brunson and Towns and Haliburton and Siakam will show up in such a high-pressure game, whether or not this series gets extended to seven games will likely come down to which team’s ancillary players are able to make the other team pay for allowing them room to find their offense.

We want to hear from you. Will the Pacers close out the series and advance to their first NBA Finals since 2000, or will the Knicks be able to extend the series to a winner-takes-all Game 7?

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Bradley, Haliburton, Turnovers

The Pacers‘ starting small forward, Aaron Nesmith, is still playing through a right ankle sprain he suffered during Game 3 against the Knicks, and Game 5 proved more difficult than Game 4 in that regard, writes Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star. However, he’s not letting himself off the hook for a 16-minute, three-point performance.

It hurts, but it’s no excuse. Gotta be better. I was able to play Game 4. I could play today. There was no excuse,” he said.

While Dopirak points to a first-quarter collision with Knicks’ center Mitchell Robinson in Game 5 as a potential reason for the extra pain, Nesmith rebuked that idea.

It wasn’t a play today that made it worse,” he said.

While Nesmith has taken the bulk of responsibility guarding Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson throughout the series, head coach Rick Carlisle turned to other wing options after Nesmith struggled out of the gate.

He got off to a bit of a slow start. I wasn’t sure if maybe he was slowed a little bit by the ankle. I put [Ben] Sheppard in there right away and then [Bennedict] Mathurin got a game going. That dug into Aaron’s minutes some. But everyone’s just gonna have to be ready for Game 6,” explained Carlisle.

Here’s more from Indiana:

  • In more Pacers’ injury news, backup center Tony Bradley is being listed as questionable for Saturday’s Game 6 with a left hip flexor strain, reports Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files (via Twitter). Bradley landed awkwardly after Robinson fouled him on a layup attempt in the third quarter. After receiving sporadic minutes throughout the postseason, Bradley had played an average of 11 minutes per game in the three contests leading up to Game 5, as usual backup Thomas Bryant‘s minutes declined. With Robinson’s insertion into the Knicks’ starting lineup, the Pacers have leaned into smaller lineups featuring Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin without a traditional center.
  • Following a dominant Game 4 in which he contributed 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and four steals with no turnovers, Tyrese Haliburton was uncharacteristically quiet in Game 5, scoring just eight points on seven shots in 31 minutes. It was a head-scratcher of a performance, writes The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, and Haliburton knows it. “I got to be better, set the tone, get downhill. I feel like I can do a great job of that, but I’ll watch the film,” he said. However, Carlisle said it’s not all on the star point guard. “As a team, we have to be aggressive and have a level of balance,” Carlisle said. “… There’s more things I’m gonna have to do to help him. I’ll take responsibility for that, and we’ll see what we can improve.” Vardon draws a parallel to Haliburton’s Game 3 against the Cavaliers, in which he scored just four points over 30 minutes in a loss. The Pacers went on to win the next two contests by an average of 14.5 points as they closed out the series in five games.
  • The Pacers committed turnovers on each of their first two possessions of Game 5, a harbinger of things to come for a team that draws strength from rarely making mistakes, writes Agness. Indiana opened the second half by turning the ball over on their first possession as well, and ended with a playoff-high 20 turnovers in the game, compared to New York’s 15. Losing the turnover battle, as well as the rebounding battle, meant the Pacers totaled just 74 shots compared to 89 for the Knicks.

And-Ones: 2025 Draft, Withdrawals, Finals, Scariolo

In the wake of the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline, ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have updated their big board of this year’s top 100 draft-eligible prospects.

There are no surprises at the very top of their list, with Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and V.J. Edgecombe continuing to hold the first four spots. However, there’s plenty of movement elsewhere in the first round, with Noa Essengue (No. 14 to 9), Carter Bryant (No. 20 to 12), Maxime Raynaud (No. 35 to 24) among the biggest risers since ESPN last updated its big board.

Conversely, Kasparas Jakucionis (No. 7 to 10), Derik Queen (No. 10 to 13), and Jase Richardson (No. 13 to 20) are among the prospects who were projected as lottery picks in ESPN’s previous update and have slipped a few spots this time around.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • An ESPN panel consisting of Givony, Woo, and college basketball insider Jeff Borzello evaluates how this month’s early entrant decisions have impacted the NCAA landscape, identifying which programs benefited most or were hit hardest by the decisions made before Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline. Givony, Woo, and Borzello also single out a few players who look poised to boost their draft stock for 2026 after returning to school, including Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford and Houston’s Joseph Tugler.
  • If Indiana beats New York once more to win the Eastern Conference Finals, it would be the first NBA Finals since the luxury tax was implemented in which neither team is a taxpayer, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Both the Thunder and Pacers stayed below the tax this season, whereas every other NBA Finals since 2003 (with the exception of 2005, when a lack of basketball-related income resulted in no luxury taxes) has featured at least one taxpaying team.
  • Sergio Scariolo, a former Raptors assistant and the current head coach of the Spanish national team, is interviewing for a position with an NBA team, reports Alex Molina of Eurohoops. The identity of that NBA team is unclear, but the interview is presumably for an assistant coaching role, since the Suns are the only team with a head coaching vacancy and are already in their third round of interviews.

Knicks Notes: Robinson, Payne, Game 5, Defense

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson helped New York extend its postseason with a 111-94 Game 5 victory over Indiana on Thursday night, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post.

Robinson has been starting in the stead of guard Josh Hart since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That said, Hart is still playing starter’s minutes, even as the team’s new sixth man, averaging 12 minutes per game more than Robinson.

“It’s just matchups and what’s going on in the game,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of his decision to keep Robinson in the starting five. “Sometimes it’s impacted by foul trouble as well.”

Robinson logged six points, six boards, two blocks and a steal in 20 minutes of action. Beyond the statistics, Robinson’s defense against Indiana helped the Knicks build out a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter.

The 26-year-old will be on an expiring $13MM deal next season. His health has been an ongoing question mark throughout his pro career, but his defensive upside could put him in line for a raise on an extension and/or make him an intriguing asset for rival teams.

There’s more out of New York:

  • Knicks reserve guard Cameron Payne has fallen out of New York’s rotation even as Thibodeau has built out his bench rotation to include veterans Landry Shamet and Delon Wright, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post (subscriber link). Payne had suited up for all of New York’s first 14 playoff bouts, averaging 7.2 MPG. He has now been a healthy scratch in each of the Knicks’ last three games. Payne, on an expiring veteran’s minimum contract, may be playing himself out of a future in New York.
  • On the brink of elimination, the Knicks now live to fight another day after shellacking Indiana in Game 5. Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link) supplies his report card, awarding All-Star guard Jalen Brunson an A for his 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. “I’m just very proud of what we did,” Brunson said, per SNY.tv (Twitter link). “Now, we’ve just got to replicate it in the first quarter of next game and then continue to build on that.”
  • The Knicks’ aggressive defense proved critical in stopping the best efforts of the Pacers’ best player, All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton, notes Schwartz in another piece. Haliburton notched a turnover-free 32-point, 15-assist, 12-rebound triple-double in Game 4. All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges served as Haliburton’s primary defender in Game 5. Haliburton didn’t connect from the floor until the third quarter. The two-time All-Star shot just 2-of-8 from the floor to finish with eight points. Robinson’s versatile defense proved crucial against the Pacers all over the floor. Shamet and Wright chipped in defensively, too.

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Siakam, Mathurin, Nesmith

After blaming himself for the Pacers‘ second-half offensive issues in Game 3, Tyrese Haliburton responded with his best game of the postseason in Game 4 on Tuesday. As Jamal Collier of ESPN writes, Haliburton became the first player since the NBA began tracking turnovers in 1977 to rack up at least 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds (he had 32, 15, and 12) in a playoff game without committing a turnover.

“I just want to be able to prove that I can respond when my back’s against the wall, when our team’s back is against the wall,” Haliburton said after the victory, which gave Indiana a 3-1 series lead. “This is a big win for us because if we go back down there 2-2, it’s a little different momentum-wise.”

With the Pacers just one win away from earning a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, Haliburton is in the process of establishing himself as a legitimate NBA superstar.

“His ability to play both on and off the ball is so unique,” one Western Conference executive told Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “It allows him to be Steph Curry-esque.”

While opposing point guard Jalen Brunson is putting up better individual scoring numbers than Haliburton in the Eastern Conference Finals, Haliburton is being lauded for his ability to take care of the ball and set up his teammates for scoring opportunities, as Bontemps writes.

“(Haliburton is) throwing it ahead, playing out of dribble handoffs, running pick-and-rolls, so he gets everyone involved,” a Western Conference scout told ESPN. “So (Aaron) Nesmith is throwing himself into defense because he knows he’s going to get touches and shots.

“I didn’t think (Haliburton) had this jump in him. He’s shown so much more just because he makes his teammates better. Those guys have all been put in positions to succeed. All these guys are the best versions of themselves now because they have been instilled with confidence and optimized.”

Here’s more on the Pacers ahead of Thursday’s Game 5:

  • Various sources who spoke to Bontemps expressed admiration for the Pacers’ ability to repeat – and potentially outdo – last spring’s playoff success. One scout admitted he was surprised by Indiana’s deep postseason run, but acknowledged they’re “so solid everywhere” and “don’t have any weaknesses,” while an assistant coach pointed out that Indiana is in good position to run it back with this roster in 2025/26. “Assuming they bring back (free agent center) Myles (Turner), they’re such a complete team,” that assistant told ESPN. “And they have size and physicality at every position. And it’s sustainable because of the deals they have everyone signed to.”
  • As good as Haliburton has been in the Eastern Finals, it’s forward Pascal Siakam who is leading the Pacers in scoring through four games vs. New York. As Peter Botte of The New York Post writes, Siakam is getting the best of former teammate and good friend OG Anunoby en route to his big scoring nights.
  • After a quiet start to the series, Bennedict Mathurin showed in Game 4 that he’s capable of making an outsized impact in a limited role, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Mathurin, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, poured in 20 points in just 12:29 of action on Tuesday.
  • Playing through a sprained ankle in Game 4, Nesmith continued to have a major hand in the club’s success, scoring 16 points and playing solid defense against Brunson. As Nate Duncan tweets, the Knicks star shot just 3-of-13 from the floor with Nesmith as his primary defender, doing almost all of his damage against other Pacers.
  • Nesmith is once again listed as questionable to play in Game 5, but his comments after Game 4’s win suggest he’s highly likely to suit up on Thursday. “I was like, I don’t care how I feel. I’m playing,” he said, per David Aldridge of The Athletic. “This is what we all live for. This is (what) we’ve been preparing for all year long, our entire lifetimes. These moments, I can’t miss these moments.”