Indiana Pacers Get Usual Schedule Advantages, But Have Odd Road Trips
The obvious things remain true for every team – 80 scheduled games, with more to come based on NBA Cup results, with half of them in their home arena. But each team has different divisions, travel considerations, back-to-backs, and more that make every schedule unique. And the Pacers have one of the same advantages they have every year.
What advantages do the Pacers get via their schedule?
Due to Indiana's central location with their division foes (Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and Milwaukee) plus their close proximity when it comes to East coast teams and a few squads in the central United States, the Pacers will have the fewest miles travelled of any team in the NBA this season. Positive Residual tracks the distance each team covers in miles due to their schedule, and Indiana's 35,346 is the fewest of any team. 20 teams travel more than 40,000 miles this season.
The Pacers other edge is simply happenstance, but they are tied with five other teams in having only 13 instances of playing on back-to-back nights this season. That's the lowest number in the NBA.
That said, Indiana only plays nine games with a true rest advantage this season, which is in the bottom half of the league. Their nine games with a rest disadvantage is near the bottom of the association too, and it could be argued those two facts come out in the wash. The blue and gold will be battling similarly-rested opponents for much of the campaign.
Indiana's first 10 games are challenging. They open the season hosting the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in an NBA Finals rematch, and seven of their first 10 games come against 2025 postseason clubs. Two of the three non-playoff squads from last season in that stretch are Atlanta and Dallas, who both improved during the summer. It's a difficult first 2.5 weeks for the Pacers.
In the midst of that 10-game stretch, they host the Milwaukee Bucks. It will be the Pacers first chance to play against center Myles Turner, a big man who spent the previous 10 seasons with the franchise. It will be the first time ever that Turner has played against the blue and gold and will use the road team locker room in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
In that opening 10-game period, the Pacers have a four-game stretch with consecutive games in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It's the first of five homestands the team has this coming season compared to just four road trips of the same criteria – and one of the road trips is broken up by All-Star weekend.
Nine of Indiana's games will be on National TV, including their home opener against the Thunder. With the NBA bringing in some new broadcast partners, the Pacers will play a handful of games shown on Amazon Prime or Peacock.
The Pacers schedule from January 17 through February 20 is perhaps the strangest part. It features two lengthy road trips, multiple back-to-backs, and a homestand in between. Many of the opponents in that span project to be tough, too. Given that the trade deadline comes during the timeframe, it could be a revealing stretch for the blue and gold.
Indiana begins the regular season on October 23. Before that, they'll play four preseason games, which all come against Western Conference foes. That's ironic, as the preseason is the unofficial start to the campaign in which the Pacers will try to defend their Eastern Conference title – though it will be incredibly difficult without Turner and star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the season.
The entire Pacers schedule can be viewed here.
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