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The Indiana Pacers' depth chart has more faces returning than most rosters in the league. The emphasis, however, is truly on that "returning" bit. The Pacers saw their team decimated by an injury bug that first took Tyrese Haliburton in the NBA Finals, then returned for the rest of the starters and the bench at the start of the new season.
With a proven group of talent, there's no reason to believe that Indiana can't return to their place atop the Eastern Conference. Not only will the Pacers be returning their top four starters in Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Pascal Siakam, alongside two key bench pieces in Obi Toppin and TJ McConnell, they also swung a near-one-sided trade for star big man Ivica Zubac.
With the rotation functionally nailed down, there is only one thing the Pacers need to avoid: another health disaster.
If they do, many of the bottom eight will not get to play much. If they don't, well, let's get to know the names first.
Point Guards
Rotation level: Tyrese Haliburton, TJ McConnell
Replacement level: Quenton Jackson
G-League assignment: Braden Smith, Ethan Thomas
The return of Tyrese Haliburton and the importance of its timing is the single biggest storyline of this season. If he is once again amongst the best floor generals in the NBA, there's a very real chance the Pacers can challenge the New York Knicks or Philadelphia 76ers for the top of the East.
However, as evidenced by how threadbare the options behind him are, if Hali stumbles out of the gate, the season may very quickly return to last year's terrible standard.
It makes sense not to chase a player type that exists almost nowhere else in the league. The Pacers should not have chased Lamelo Ball – for example – as an insurance policy for Tyrese, but none of the other point guards on the roster play remotely similar roles to his.
TJ McConnell is a fiery defensive specialist with some scoring abilities and a never-say-die attitude. Quenton Jackson is more of a wing who can play some point guard, but is largely a three-and-D option.
Some might say that second-round pick Braden Smith is the closest option, but Smith is 5'10 to Haliburton's 6'5 and is just simply not an NBA player. Ethan Thomas is equally not of league talent, and will spend most, if not all, of the year in the G-League.
There is no back-up plan. It's Hali or it's H-over.
Wings
Rotation Level: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ben Sheppard
Replacement Level: Jalen Slawson, Johnny Furphy (if healthy)
G-League Assignment: Kobe Brown
Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith will return as starters at the two and the three, while Kelly Oubre will likely be the first wing off the bench. Alongside McConnell and the soon-to-be-mentioned Obi Toppin, the bench unit is still lacking, but at least it has real options.
The first response to that list may be "What is Ben Sheppard doing there?" but it's exactly that down-roster wingflation that would push someone like Sheppard into a real rotation-level role. He will certainly play considerable minutes, and if he can succeed, he'll be a major X-Factor.
That brings us to the fringe guys. Jalen Slawson just finished up an excellent summer league where he put up massive scoring numbers as a slasher and shooter. The only reason he is not already listed as a member of the rotation is his low efficiency numbers and his two-way contract status.
Johnny Furphy is another interesting upside swing. The Australian shooting guard is rehabbing an ACL injury after a long history of ankle and assorted lower-body injuries dating back to his time at Kansas. However, he was in line for a larger role last year before he missed multiple months and could deserve a look when he comes back mid-to-late regular season.
That leaves us with just Kobe Brown, who is a non-factor.
Bigs
Rotation level: Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Jay Huff
Replacement level: Larry Nance Jr.
G-League assignment: None
This may be the strongest part of the roster. While it features just one All-NBA talent, the Pacers' rotation of power forwards and centers has two top-tier starters, multiple good bench pieces, and, most importantly, real, reliable depth.
After a season only fitting to be called a nightmare, it's nice to see that Indiana has options at one position group at the very least.
Siakam and Zubac headline the group, but Toppin is a player who embodies who the Pacers are and how they play. They run, they defend, they rebound, and above all else, they play fast.
Jay Huff and Jarace Walker round out the group as two usable pieces. Huff will be a low-minute rotation center, and Walker is a real candidate to be an internal leap as the former sixth overall pick hopes to reach his ceiling while entering free agency at the end of the season.
Larry Nance Jr. has been the most panned free-agent signing by Pacers fans for the exact reason he is only listed as replacement-level here: he won't play, nor should he.
With all those players in mind, Indiana is still not done making moves. They have one regular roster slot available for next season after signing Slawson to replace the recently waived Taelon Peter.
It's unlikely that the Pacers will make major changes, but there's certainly space to find small tweaks on the peripheries.
Until then, this is how the roster checks out. It is a strong group, but without a lengthy rotation.
Indiana knows who their top players are. The top eight will be the top eight until proven otherwise. If that changes, it will either be a great change or a very, very bad one.
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This article was originally published on 8points9seconds.com as Pacers' revamped depth chart shows lingering worry as Tyrese Haliburton returns.
