Sunday, Oct. 8 at 8:00 PM ET at FedEx Forum
Game Preview
Believe it or not, the Indiana Pacers will take the floor for the first time in the 2023-24 season on Sunday night, when they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis for the first of four preseason games.
After four practices in what head coach Rick Carlisle has described as a “highly, highly competitive camp,” we will get a first glimpse at this year’s roster in game action. While there are no players competing to make the roster this preseason, there will still be lots of competition for minutes leading up to Opening Night presented by Kroger on Oct. 25.
The Pacers have as many as 14 players that have strong cases to be in the rotation at the start of the regular season and several players fighting for a spot in the starting lineup.
All-Star Tyrese Haliburton and nine-year veteran Myles Turner are locks to start at point guard and center, respectively, but there is open competition for the next three spots. Andrew Nembhard, Buddy Hield, and Aaron Nesmith all started 60 or more games for the Pacers last year, but there’s a chance that none of them are in the starting lineup this season due to the development of second-year wing Bennedict Mathurin and the offseason additions of Bruce Brown in free agency and Obi Toppin via trade.
Toppin and first-round pick Jarace Walker give the Pacers two more traditional power forward options to compete with Jordan Nwora for minutes at that position, allowing Nesmith to slide back to a more natural spot on the wing. But that would mean the Pacers have five proven options in Brown, Hield, Mathurin, Nembhard, and Nesmith for minutes at shooting guard and small forward. Nembhard could move to backup point guard to solve that logjam, but that would potentially bump veteran stalwart T.J. McConnell from the rotation.
And then there’s the three-way competition for backup center, featuring Isaiah Jackson, Jalen Smith, and Daniel Theis, all capable options with very different strengths.
Carlisle has lots of potential permutations to play with over the course of the preseason, allowing the competition for minutes to sort itself out on the court.
The Grizzlies are an interesting first opponent. Memphis won 51 games and finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference last year. But the Grizzlies were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Lakers and now will be without All-Star point guard Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the regular season as he serves a suspension for off-court transgressions.
Without Morant, the Grizzlies will lean heavily on the young duo of 24-year-old forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and 25-year-old guard Desmond Bane. Jackson was a first-time All-Star and won Defensive Player of the Year last season, when he averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game. The sharp-shooting Bane averaged 21.5 points on 40.8 3-point shooting to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Bruce Brown, F – Bennedict Mathurin, F – Obi Toppin, C – Myles Turner
Grizzlies: G – Marcus Smart, G – Desmond Bane, F – John Konchar, F – Jaren Jackson Jr., C – Steven Adams
Injury Report
Pacers: TBA
Grizzlies: TBA
Last Meeting
Jan. 29, 2023: The Grizzlies outscored the Pacers 62-38 in the second half en route to a 112-100 victory in Memphis.
Bennedict Mathurin scored a team-high 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds off the bench in the loss. Aaron Nesmith added 16 points and Myles Turner tallied 15 for the Blue & Gold, who were without an injured Tyrese Haliburton.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Memphis, while Ja Morant registered a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists.
Noteworthy
- Carlisle will enter the regular season needing just four wins to become the 14th coach in NBA history to reach 900 wins for his career.
- As many as six players could be playing their first game in a Pacers uniform on Sunday: Brown, Toppin, Walker, and fellow rookies Ben Sheppard, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Isaiah Wong.
- The Grizzlies roster features four players who went to high school or college in Indiana: Jackson attended both Park Tudor and La Lumiere, Bane graduated from Seton Catholic, Jake LaRavia went to Lawrence Central, and John Konchar attended Purdue Fort Wayne.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: None
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)
Tickets
The Pacers tip off the 2023-24 regular season on Opening Night presented by Kroger against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 PM ET. Secure your seats today.
Originally posted on nba.com