Pacers Must Go All In Ahead of Trade Deadline Following Strong 14-Game Run

After making the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, there were a lot of questions surrounding the Indiana Pacers. Heading into this year, a lot of pundits thought the 2023-24 season was a fluke.

Many compared it to the run that the Atlanta Hawks had to the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2021. Since that moment, the Hawks have not come close to contending again.

The Pacers started just 2-6 on the season and looked destined to take a step back. Injuries took a major toll on their ability to win games.

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Now, they are finally mostly healthy, only still missing Aaron Nesmith. Because of that, they have been able to make a run back up the Eastern Conference standings.

The Pacers have won five straight games and 11 of their last 14. They are only a game behind the Orlando Magic for the fourth seed in the East.

The Pacers are 11-3 since their memorable bad loss to Charlotte.

During that 14 game stretch, the Pacers rank:

3rd in offense
14th in defense
5th in net rating
1st in fewest turnovers
12th in rebounding
3rd in assists
5th in +/-
6th in fast break points
7th in points in paint pic.twitter.com/PntCHNK5dG
— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) January 11, 2025

Because they have been so good, it's time for them to make an all-in move for this season. Nesmith being out for so long has given Bennedict Mathurin a chance to ascend into a starting role.

Mathurin has been able to blossom. He's averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage.

That has made Nesmith more expendable. They could send him in packages aimed at getting a wing who could be a game-changer.

The Pacers have been linked to interest in Cameron Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets. Adding him would give the Pacers another bona fide scorer, as well as someone who has more length on the wing than Mathurin does.

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Jerami Grant could be another player the Pacers target. He also would give the team a scoring punch while also being solid defensively.

Adding someone on the wing who can help defensively more than Mathurin should be a top priority for the Pacers. That would allow Mathurin to move back into his natural role of a score-first player off the bench.

Indiana has made big swings with trades before. They could do it again now that they have proven to be a team who can contend this season.

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