Pacers 2023-24 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

The Indiana Pacers have a long-term face of the franchise onboard after agreeing to a five-year, $260 million extension with All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton this offseason.

It was the clear move to make after the three-year pro averaged 20.7 points on 49.0 percent shooting, 10.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game last season.

Now the team continues its rebuild around Haliburton. Indiana already added a key piece in the 2022 draft in Bennedict Mathurin, who averaged 16.7 points per game during his rookie year. They added another in this year's lottery in forward Jarace Walker, who should make an immediate positive impact on the defensive end.

The Pacers also added a promising forward in Obi Toppin, a promising and exciting forward who got lost in the shuffle with the New York Knicks. Toppin has excelled when called upon to start, averaging 20.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 15 games.

He joins a frontcourt that also includes another young prospect in Jalen Smith, the No. 10 pick in the 2020 draft. He averaged 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game last year.

The future is more unclear for veterans Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Both have excelled in Pacers uniforms, but both have often been the subject of trade rumors. Hield is also on an expiring contract, while Turner only has two years left on his deal.

Indiana went just 35-47 last year, finishing tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference. However, there's a lot to like about this season's team, and there's reason to believe the Pacers will break their four-year stretch outside the playoffs.

The roadmap for the team to get there was released on Thursday, and with that in mind, here's a look at some schedule details, odds, comments on upcoming opponents and a record prediction.

2023-24 Pacers Schedule Details

Season Opener: Wednesday, Oct. 25 vs. Washington Wizards

Championship Odds: +25000 (bet $100 to win $2,500), per FanDuel

Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on NBA.com.

Top Matchups

Philadelphia 76ers/Cleveland Cavaliers/Atlanta Hawks/Detroit Pistons

This year marks the debut of the NBA In-Season Tournament. All 30 teams have been split into six groups of five. Those teams will play a round robin within their groups, with the winners advancing to a quarterfinal round (along with the top two second-place teams in groups).

The top eight teams will then advance to a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the winner hoisting the NBA Cup. Action starts on Nov. 3 and runs into December.

The Pacers may not be ready for an NBA Finals run right now, but it's anyone's guess who can win the NBA Cup with such a small sample size. A team just needs to get hot at the right time and come away hoisting a trophy (and splitting a prize pool too).

Indiana got drawn into a group with the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons. That isn't an easy group with the former three teams all making the playoffs last year, but it's not an insurmountable task to come away as the top team either, especially if players like Haliburton and Mathurin get hot.

Season Forecast

The Pacers went 28-28 with Haliburton last year and 7-19 without him as the star got sidelined with numerous injuries.

A healthy return and a full season should automatically make this team better, and that's with the presumed improvement of players such as Mathurin and Smith and the additions of Walker and Toppin.

Turner and Hield should still be productive, with the former capable of Defensive Player of the Year honors and the latter dropping close to 20 points per night.

Ultimately, the guess here is that the Pacers safely make the play-in tournament after posting a winning regular-season record.

Record Prediction: 43-39