Highlighting the top 5 Indiana Pacers games for the 2022-23 NBA season

The NBA season is just about set to get underway. The preseason starts September 30th with a matchup in Japan that will feature Golden State against Washington. And speaking of the upcoming season, this Indiana Pacers campaign doesn’t project to be a very good one. So, it’s hard to look at their schedule now and circle any “must-watch” games. However, there are a few things to look forward to this season.

One is watching the development of the young players and seeing how they gel as a team. There is a lot of hope and hype around the youth of this team. This season will provide a better understanding of the talent on this roster. While there may not be a must-watch game on the schedule right now, we can still look at five interesting matchups for the Pacers.

Indiana Pacers’ first game of the season

NBA: Indiana Pacers at Phoenix Suns — Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It’s true. This season may not be a great one for the Pacers. That doesn’t take anything away from the first game of the season. Opening night for the Pacers is October 19 at home against Washington. Like Indiana, Washington doesn’t project to be the toughest opponent. There is a possibility for an upset here. And what a way to start the season if it’s a win.

While there will still be 81 games that follow, starting off a year of uncertainty with a win can help the team, and its fanbase in a number of ways, carrying on hope for a little while longer.

Seeing how the team responds in back-to-backs

Since this Pacers team is young, there will be a lot of lows and highs. Hopefully, one thing fans can count on is the team being entertaining. Something worth keeping an eye on throughout the course of the season is how the team does in their back-to-back games.

They have six of them on the season; one in each month except for April. Half of their back-to-backs will be against playoff teams from last season. Their first double dip comes at home on October 21 against San Antonio, followed by Detroit on the next night. Both of these games are winnable.

The next back-to-back comes on November 18 at Houston and home against Orlando on November 19. Again, both of these games are winnable for the Pacers. The back-to-back comes right after Christmas on December 26 in New Orleans and home to Indiana to face off against Atlanta on December 27. This set of back-to-backs will be especially interesting as the team will have to travel overnight back home and get ready for their next game. The youth should help the Pacers bounce back, but it could also be a detriment as they might not know how best to handle this situation.

Starting the new year, the Pacers will play hosts to Atlanta on January 13 and Memphis on January 14. This will be another measuring stick of games against playoff teams. Winning the games is what we all want. However, seeing the Pacers show improvement against playoff teams is what will really be worth watching.

The Pacers won’t have to wait long in February for their first set of back-to-backs. On February 2, they’ll host the L.A. Lakers and then Sacramento the next day. This will mark the first time former Pacer Domantas Sabonis will be returning to Indiana this season.

Finally, in March, the Pacers will take on two more Eastern Conference playoff teams from 2021-22. On March 5, they’ll travel to Chicago and then come home to host Philadelphia the next night. Again, this will be another test for the young team playing on back-to-back nights while also traveling late at night.

Maybe the biggest thing to watch throughout all of these back-to-backs is seeing how the team handles them throughout the course of the season. Hopefully, the fans can see the team grow and perform better in these situations.

First time being on national TV

The Pacers don’t have many games on TV for anyone out of the market to watch. They get one on ESPN and three on NBA TV. However, their first national TV game (on ESPN) comes on October 28 on the road against Washington. This matchup also provides the first opportunity for a revenge game.

Strange scheduling

There are three incidents on the Pacers’ schedule where they’ll play the same opponent twice within a three-day span. Just like with the back-to-back, this will be another opportunity to see how the young team responds to a quick turnaround. However, a key difference is that the Pacers will face the same opponent.

It will allow the Pacers to make the necessary adjustments to what they saw and experienced in the previous game. As previously stated, there are three incidents of this in the season, October 29 and 31 at Brooklyn, November 19 and 21 at home against Orlando, and March 11 and 13 in Detroit. The matchups against Detroit and Orlando will have some big impacts as the outcomes will help determine each team’s draft spot.

The season will eventually end

Hopefully, by the time the season is coming to a close, the Pacers will be showing that they are on an upward trajectory. They might possibly be on a winning streak, too, as their last five games will be against Oklahoma City, Cleveland, New York, Detroit, and New York again.

“The Knicks vs the Hicks” rivalry isn’t what it used to be in the ’90s. However, it’s always fun to beat them, especially in “the garden.” The Knicks are in a weird position, they aren’t exactly rebuilding, but they’re also not necessarily a bonafide playoff team. It’s possible the Knicks could be fighting for a play-in spot. If so, how sweet would it be to knock them out?

If they’re not competitive, then this game could be about two teams that are trying to build their next title contender. For the New York team, it seems like they’ve been in this same position since Roy Hibbert blocked Carmelo Anthony’s shot at the rim and sent them home packing.

Regardless, both of these teams are fairly young, with successful veteran head coaches. Regardless of how the season turns out for the Pacers as a whole, it’ll be great to see them end the season with a win. This team is just getting started, and this season will be exciting to watch.