Banged-Up Pacers Brace for LeBron James, 76ers on National TV

Hello darkness my old friend.

The Indiana Pacers find themselves looking in the mirror at the 2025-26 season with eight players on the Injury Report heading into tonight’s national televised game against LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Here are three things to watch for in tonight’s game.

1). 76ers Loaded Roster

lebron — Oct 25, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after his score against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The darlings of the offseason have gotten off to a great 3-1 start this season and are undefeated when their big man Joel Embiid plays.

They have three players averaging 20 points or more in the early portion of the season. Tyrese Maxey leads the way with 28.8, Embiid is second with 21.7 and newcomer Jaylen Brown is at 20.8.

Embiid has been a strong rebounder corralling 9.7 per game and he is tied with James for the most assists per game with 5.7.

At age 41, James is still playing a heavy amount of minutes at 33.3 per contest. He’s taken a backseat as a scorer, but is still averaging 16.3 per game. He’s third in rebounds per game with 7.0 for the 76ers.

The 76ers’ second-year guard VJ Edgecombe is contributing in a smaller role. In 32.7 minutes, he averages 12.3 points and is second in rebounds at 8.0 per game.

At full strength Indiana would have their hands full with this group, but the team already announced they would be without center Ivica Zubac (ankle), and their starting backcourt of Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) and Andrew Nembhard (back/neck) are listed as questionable for this matchup. If all three players are out, Indiana won’t just be fighting an uphill battle —they’ll be trying to climb Mount Everest without oxygen.

2). Advantage Pacers Bench

obi — Oct 21, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) during the second half against New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Despite what feels like a lackluster season (so far) from the Pacers’ second unit, they rank 10th in bench scoring. If they can feed off the energy of the home crowd, this could help fuel them to outpace the 76ers.

Obi Toppin is the team’s leading scorer off the bench with 15.8 points per game on 54.5% shooting from the field and 40% from three. Kelly Oubre Jr. is second in bench points with 7.5 on very inefficient shooting splits of 38.7% from the field and 18.8% from three. This will be his first game against his former team — which could be extra motivation for a strong showing.

Philadelphia on the other hand ranks near the bottom of the league in bench production. Scoring just 32.4 points per game, the 76ers rank 27th in bench scoring.

Dean Wade (32.5 minutes) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (27.5 minutes) lead the charge for this group averaging a combined 15 points per game. They’re deadly from three with Wade shooting 50% and Caldwell-Pope 47.1%.

Anfernee Simons was the 76ers’ key bench offseason signing, but he’s been underwhelming through 4 games. Averaging just 6 points per contest, with a negative assists to turnover ratio (1.3 to 2.0) in 22.8 minutes per game.

3). A heavy dose of Spicy P

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Indiana needs to rely heavily on their leading scorer Pascal Siakam if they want to win this game.

Scoring 20 points or more in all four games this season, the former NBA Champion will need to deliver another strong primetime performance if the Pacers have any chance of winning this game.

As the team leader in personal fouls drawn, he will need to not only continue getting to the foul line, but make significantly more than 56% of his attempts. If he can find a way to get any of the starters for the 76ers in foul trouble, that’s a big advantage for a hobbled Pacers team.

Siakam has shot the ball incredibly well from the field (52.9%) and three-point range (44.4%). Coming off a season-high rebounding effort of 13, he will need to be as effective on the glass as he is at putting the ball in the hoop, all while guarding James, Brown and even Embiid at times.

Where to Watch

embiid — Dec 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) drives against Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff (32) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tonight’s matchup will be nationally televised on ESPN. You can also listen to the radio broadcast locally at 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan, or listen on NBA League Pass.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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