The Indiana Pacers started off their new era strong. Now, they have to deal with expectations

The Pacers want to make the playoffs in 2023-24

Before the 2022-23 Indiana Pacers season, most projections and models said the team would win 25 or so games. The team was entering a new era, and the roster was young. The prevailing thought was that the team would struggle in the first full year of a rebuild.

"It's certainly a direction of youth. It's a direction of going all in on a group of guys that are young, talented, of extremely high character, and tremendous upside," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the team on media day before the season.

Instead of struggling, the Pacers smashed their goals and expectations. They won 35 games and were in the race for a play-in berth until early April. After half of their games, they were 23-18, sitting comfortably at sixth place in the Eastern Conference. They showed that at their best, they can beat just about anybody.

They also oversaw the development of many players. Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Myles Turner, Aaron Nesmith, and Jordan Nwora were noticeably better at the end of the season compared to where they were at the beginning. Most of those players are young.

Everything the Pacers could have hoped for this year happened. Their core players got better, they showed how strong of a team they can be at their best, and they established an identity. The first year of a new era went incredibly well.

It wasn't all perfect. A handful of younger players didn't take the step forward some had hoped. Balance concerns exist as the team is heavy on guards. The Pacers won 35 games, which puts them right in between the top of the draft and play-in tournament positioning. Oftentimes, that's a poor place to be, though so many teams had capable seasons that the Pacers ended up with the seventh-best draft lottery odds.

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There is far more to like than not like about year one of Indiana's new era, though, and that is why the franchise is excited about the next steps. "I'm optimistic about our future," President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said last Tuesday. He discussed the merits of accelerating the Pacers rebuild vs letting it grow more organically, a decision that can now be made because Indiana is ahead of schedule after a successful season.

"I like where we're going," Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton added.

The Pacers next steps are more difficult, both in action and mentality. Going from 25 wins to 35 wins is "easier," as Haliburton noted. That just requires beating up on the crummy teams. "Especially when expectations aren't there, you can surprise some people," the point guard said.

The path forward for the Pacers now involves expectations, and it involves leapfrogging a higher class of teams. Indiana has playoff aspirations next season, and they've shown they have the talent to make that leap. But if that level of play is expected, the 2023-24 Pacers season will be about more than just winning more games.

It will also be about managing those expectations. Even if they are just internal goals and not applied by fans or media, there will still be expectations to handle. That's an added challenge for a young roster, and one that they will have to learn to handle on their way to success.

"Expectations externally mean nothing. They shouldn't mean anything to anybody... we had expectations coming into the year," Haliburton said last Monday. "We knew that if people were here, we had a chance to be in the playoffs."

Injuries prevented the team from being present as much as they hoped. Haliburton missed 26 games. Turner missed 20, and Chris Duarte missed 36. Haliburton and Turner's absences were particularly tough. Indiana was 26-22 when both of those players were available.

Both Turner and Haliburton missed more time after the halfway point than before it. That's a factor in the team going 23-18 in the first half of the season and just 12-29 in the second half. Perhaps that's a reason for optimism for the blue and gold, and part of why they feel they should be a playoff team next season.

But they are also setting expectations for themselves, which can be challenging. Losing when there are expectations is hard. Coming up short when wins, and a postseason berth, are desired is more frustrating. Much of Indiana's next steps will be about taking on those difficult mental challenges.

"That's the big thing. We set our expectations as a group. We know what we want to do. Next year, we want to be in the playoffs" Haliburton siad. "We're not going to short change that at all, we know that's what we want to do. That's 100% the goal going into next year. If guys are listening to external things rather than that, then that's their problem."

That's how the 2023-24 Pacers season could be defined — whether or not the team reaches their expectations of a playoff appearance. They have great veterans to keep the team focused on that objective. T.J. McConnell and Myles Turner have been in the postseason before as members of the Pacers. Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, and Jalen Smith have been to the NBA Finals before. The Pacers have guys under contract who can help keep a team stay together, even when expectations enter the mix.

That will be vital. Perhaps Indiana has no problem dealing with internal pressure and they have no difficulty meeting expectations next season. But young players in a new mental environment will have to adjust, at least somewhat, for the team to push forward and reach their goals next year.

"Guys have to prepare the right way and mentally approach it the right way," Haliburton said.

The Indiana Pacers new era is off to a great start. For that momentum to continue, they can't let expectations get in the way.

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• Tyrese Haliburton is a partner with the Indiana Pacers franchise, and the team doesn't think a contract extension will be complicated. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers President Kevin Pritchard knows he must toe the fine line between neutral and accelerating. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers exit interviews: Jalen Smith struggled at power forward, and that will help going forward. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers win random draft drawing over Washington Wizards, see unwelcomed results elsewhere. CLICK HERE.
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