Indiana Pacers Season Preview!

As we continue our Central Division Previews, we take a break from the other teams in the division and focus on your Indiana Pacers. Facci and I answer the following 8 questions and have a lengthy discussion about the upcoming year for the blue and gold.  Questions:1. How can Indiana avoid the overused phrase “gap year” for next season? 2. Which players need to take the biggest step forward in order for Indiana to reach its’ ceiling with this core? 3. Pascal Siakam rebranded his style of play to an extent in order to fit the Pacers system. What more can Siakam do to take another step forward, or is this is ceiling? 4. What do you view as the biggest area of weakness for the Pacers?5. Now on the flip side of that question, what do you view as the biggest strength for the Pacers?6. Rank the 5 most important Pacers for next season. 7. Do you see a trade for this team during the season, if so is there a player you’d like to see Indiana target?8. What would you consider a successful season for the Pacers?  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alex Golden and Mike Facci kickoff the show discussing the Colts big win over the Broncos on Sunday, as Facci's favorite football team, the Denver Broncos choked away a victory with a costly penalty on the 60 yard field goal attempt. After a brief discussion on the Colts, the guys talk about the Cavaliers with Bob Schmidt of the Fear The 'Fro Podcast. With Cleveland expected to win the East once again this season, there are a lot of question marks with this team and reaching expectations. The guys also look at the Cavs current salary cap situation and what type of moves they could make to better their roster!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alex Golden is joined by Bryce Simon from The Pistons Pulse to discuss the Detroit Pistons upcoming season. In this preview, the guys go in-depth on the Pistons team and also jump into a good discussion on the Pacers.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, Alex and Facci draft 16 of the 17 players on the Pacers roster to form teams of 8 each. At the end of the season, the guys will see who drafted the better team by tallying up the stats and accolades from the season. Play with your friends and make your own rules! Let us know if you do and how your team turned out!Then, the guys get into their Western Conference Standings Predictions. How many similarities do Alex and Facci have this time? Not nearly as many as they did for the East...definitely a great discussion about the West and how the guys see it playing out.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's episode of STP, Alex and Facci react to the Pacers training camp signing of Jalen Slawson and other team related news involving multiple public appearances for Tyrese Haliburton.Then, the guys share 10 Bold Predictions for the upcoming NBA Season!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alex and Facci each share 3 Bold Predictions for the upcoming Pacers season and then they discuss the 2020 NBA Draft Class, specifically the redraft done by Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon of The Game Theory Podcast.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, Alex Golden is joined by David Cole and Carson Stafford to determine where the new Pacers center duo ranks against the other starting centers in the league. The guys use the player ratings from NBA 2K26 to compare where they have them ranked. This episode was full of differing opinions on certain centers which led to some great conversations. Here is a list of the centers that were ranked/discussed: Karl Towns, Joel Embiid, Porzingis, Okongwu, Jarrett Allen, Myles Turner, Nikola Vucevic, Jalen Duren, Jakob Poeltl, Alex Sarr, Kel'el Ware, Nic Claxton, Wendall Carter Jr., Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, Mason Plumlee, Diabate and Queta. Players 11-15 (0:00 - 28:40)Players 6-10 (28:46-57:24)Players 1-5 (57:26 -1:34:12) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, Alex and Facci rank all 15 starting power forwards in the Eastern Conference. The guys compare their rankings to how NBA 2k26 had their power forwards rated. The guys finally had differing opinions with their lists, which caused for a good debate...but the real question is, where did the guys land on Siakam for starting power forwards in the East this season? Side note, the players selected were from a variety of websites that listed each team's depth chart based on last year's data and projecting into this season... Here are NBA 2K26's ratings:Jalen Johnson - 81, Chris Boucher - 73, Noah Clowney - 73, Miles Bridges - 80, Patrick Williams - 75, Evan Mobley - 89, Tobias Harris - 80, Pascal Siakam - 89, Bam Adebayo (Kal’el Ware at C) - 88, Giannis Antetokounmpo - 97, OG Anunoby - 85, Paolo Banchero - 90, Paul George - 81,Scottie Barnes - 85, Khris Middleton - 79  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, Alex Golden and Mike Facci discuss Facci's big weekend, where he put on his cape and became Super Dad for his daughter Maddie playing a carnival game. Then, the guys get into the weeds and look at the starting wings (shooting guards and small forwards) in the Eastern Conference. Alex and Facci rank from 1-15 each wing duo in the East and explain why they ranked Nesmith and Mathurin in the position they did against the other duos for the 2025-2026 season. They pulled data from NBA 2k26 for rankings and used a variety of websites to determine who was projected to be the starting shooting guard and small forward of each team. Here is a list of the duos that were ranked by NBA 2K26:Hawks: 81.5 | Daniels - 83 + Risacher - 80Celtics:  88.5 | White - 87 + Brown - 90Nets: 81 | Thomas - 80 + Porter Jr - 82Hornets: 81 | Sexton - 80 + Miller - 82Bulls:  79.5 | White - 83 + Huerter - 76Cavs: 86.5 | Mitchell - 93 + Hunter (Strus hurt) - 80Pistons: 80 | Ivey - 79 + Ausar - 81Pacers: 80 | Mathurin - 79 + Nesmith - 81Heat:  83 | Herro - 86 + Wiggins - 80Bucks: 77 | Trent Jr - 77 + Kuzma - 77 Knicks: 82.5 | Hart - 81 + Bridges - 84 Magic: 84.5 | Bane - 83 + Wagner - 8676ers:  79 | McCain (could be Edgecomb) - 80 + Oubre Jr - 78Raptors: 83 | Barrett (Could be Dick) - 82 + Ingram - 84 Wizards: 79.5 | McCollum - 81 + Coulibaly - 78   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.