The Indiana Pacers schedule typically comes with some built-in advantages. Their proximity to their Central Division foes keeps them low in the miles travelled department most years – last year, they had the fewest.
This year, that division is weaker in quality, adding another edge for the blue and gold. They’ll play both the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks four times each, and they are two of the seven teams that have a projected win total below 30, per FanDuel Odds.
Yet their typical travel advantage is muted (it’s still the lowest number of miles travelled in the league) ever so slightly by one of their home games being played in Mexico City. And the rest of the Eastern Conference? It’s pretty good, making life more difficult for the Pacers as they try to bounce back to contention after a 19-63 season.
And they have one built-in disadvantage: Their NBA Cup group is hellish. The random drawing for the groups is based on records from last season, and the Pacers ended up in a five-team pod with the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat.
The Heat acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer. Tyrese Haliburton is back for the Pacers. Both LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are in Philly now, and the Cavs return a conference finals core while adding Peyton Watson. It’s a stacked group, only adding to Indiana’s challenging slate of games.
It all begins in New Orleans on Wednesday, October 21. “When I saw the schedule I was like, ‘oh wow’,” Haliburton said of the Pacers kicking off their season on the road, reacting to his return from injury not being in Indiana. “I was shocked to see that.”
Instead, the Pacers home opener will be two days later against the Dallas Mavericks. Their first nine games are fairly manageable in terms of perceived opponent quality, but things ramp up in difficulty from November 9 through the end of 2026.
What else is hard about the Pacers schedule?
InTheNo published a schedule breakdown for all 30 teams, and it reveals some of the other challenges baked into the Pacers 80-game slate (with two more to be added based on NBA Cup Group Stage results).
- The Pacers have 15 back-to-backs (two games in consecutive days) this season, tied for the second most in the league. Only five teams have more (16 each).
- Indiana has just nine games with a rest advantage (more days between games than their opponent) this season, the fourth-fewest in the league. Some teams have as many as 15.
- On the flip side, the Pacers have 12 games with a rest disadvantage, tied for the third most. Three teams have just seven. The Pacers have three more games with a rest disadvantage compared to an advantage, one of just five teams with a figure that low. The Pelicans rank last at negative five in this stat.
On the upside for the Pacers:
- The Pacers grade out slightly below average in how often they cross timezones this season. Shorter trips are good for any team.
- Only nine teams have fewer instances of three games in four nights. The Pacers have 20 of those.
The Pacers are well aware that they could be in for a slower start to the season as Haliburton gets back up to speed and Ivica Zubac gets fully integrated with his new teammates. “We’re also patient about this as well… Once he steps back on the floor, it’s not going to be instantly back to [the old] Tyrese,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said in late June. “I think we all have to have some grace with him. He knows that’s going to be part of his recovery.”
Yet the demanding nature of the team’s schedule, both in terms of November and December opponents combined with their back-to-back count, makes a fast start important. Haliburton and Zubac won’t have much time to build chemistry that they very much need.
On the bright side for the Pacers, several of their back-to-backs feature one opponent that currently doesn’t project to win many games. They’ll need to pick up wins whenever they can in a stacked Eastern Conference – one that the Pacers hope they can win once again.