That honor belongs to the Indiana Pacers. In fact, through seven games, the Pacers 124.9 points per game average is better than Boston’s 123.5 for second. The Pacers put up 143 against the Washington Wizards in their season opener, then set a franchise record with Monday’s 152-111 win over the San Antonio Spurs. A season ago, the Pacers’ best offensive game was 143.
Indiana has two of the four highest team scores thus far, but the downfall to their 4-3 record was the NBA-worst 155 points the Celtics laid on them back on November 1, in a 51-point loss. Their 121.7 opponent PPG average is third-worst in the league, only trailing the Spurs (125.9) and Wizards (128.7).
While certainly not the youngest team in the league, the Pacers have a roster made up of some of the most sought-after young talent at the start of the decade. With their acquisition of Obi Toppin from the New York Knicks in July, the Pacers have five players on their current roster that were taken in the 2020 NBA Draft. Toppin was drafted eighth overall by New York, Jalen Smith tenth by Phoenix, Aaron Nesmith 14th by Boston, and Jordan Nwora 45th by Milwaukee.
The one player I omitted from the group is Tyrese Haliburton. When ESPN ranked their 25 best players in the league under the age of 25, Haliburton came up short only to Victor Wembanyama (Spurs), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), and a guy named Luca you may have heard of a few times. Haliburton, 23, selected 12th in 2020 by Sacramento, currently leads the NBA in assists, averaging 12.4 a game.
Getting the assets to replace Caris Levert, after being traded to Cleveland at the 2022 deadline, was the primary concern for Indiana’s rebuild progressing as many experts hoped it would. The Pacers have been picked by many--myself included--to be a playoff team in 2024. The Pacers already boast two wins over Cleveland, the team they are most focused on catching in the Central Division.
In fact, the Pacers used one of those wins against the Cavaliers to jump out in front in Group A of the NBA In-Season Tournament. You know the NBA Cup…the idea that became reality, that will flop harder than thinking they won’t cave to load management with the Player’s Association.
To be this far into the discussion, and not have yet mentioned Buddy Hield, shows just how exciting the Pacers are poised to be. Hield was the prime piece of a trade with Sacramento that also landed Haliburton in 2022. At 30 years old, Hield became the second-fastest in league history to 1,500 three pointers made, trailing only Steph Curry, accomplishing this feat in December of last year. This was part of a season that saw Hield break Reggie Miller’s franchise record of 229, finishing with 288.
The 288 makes were sandwiched between the Warrior “Splash Brothers” Curry (273) and Klay Thompson (301) for the league lead.
Indiana has missed the playoffs each of the past three seasons, and has not been out of the first round since losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to Lebron’s Miami Heat in 2014. While Haliburton is the driving force on the court, having a future Hall of Fame coach in Rick Carlisle may be the deciding factor for Indiana to be a top six team in the Eastern Conference next spring.
Carlisle, currently in his second stint in Indiana (third if you count his time as an assistant under Larry Bird) picked up career victory 900 with the drubbing of the Spurs on Monday. Sitting at 14th on the NBA’s all time list, there is a chance the Pacers could help him run down Dick Motta (935), Red Auerbach (938), and possibly even Bill Fitch (944) by season’s end.
-JC24