The Celtics and Pacers prepare for a year without their franchise stars
celtics-pacers-prepare-for-season-without-stars
Oct. 9, 2025 — The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers opened training camp last week knowing their All-NBA anchors will not be available for most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season. Boston forward Jayson Tatum and Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton each suffered a torn right Achilles during last spring’s playoffs, leaving two of the East’s recent powerhouses to retool on the fly rather than reset.
Indiana turns the page on a historic run
Inside the Pacers’ practice facility across from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, a new 2024-25 Eastern Conference championship banner quietly joined the franchise’s retired numbers and tribute flags. The team plans a brief acknowledgment before its Oct. 23 home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but head coach Rick Carlisle made it clear the focus has already shifted. “It was a great run,” Carlisle told ESPN. “But you got to turn the page.”
Haliburton’s Achilles tear in the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals ended both Indiana’s Cinderella postseason and the guard’s rapid rise. The Pacers have ruled him out for the entire campaign and are targeting opening night 2026 for his return. Until then, Bennedict Mathurin is moving into the starting lineup and Andrew Nembhard will steer the offense, with Carlisle stressing the team will still “push the pace” and rely on multiple ball-handlers.
Boston adjusts to life without Tatum
Five months after injuring his Achilles in the conference semifinals, Tatum has resumed light basketball work but set no timetable. “No pressure to return back any sooner than when I’m 100 percent healthy,” he said at media day. The Celtics have not ruled out a late-season comeback, yet president of basketball operations Brad Stevens emphasized that “rebuilding” is not part of the organization’s vocabulary.
Boston also reshaped its roster, sending out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis in trades and losing Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency. Head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has led the league in three-point attempts in each of his first two seasons, said he may “have to coach completely differently” with a younger, thinner lineup. Guard Derrick White, fresh off a four-year, $126 million extension, is expected to become the secondary scoring option behind Jaylen Brown but insists he will not chase numbers. “If I focus on ‘I need to score 25,’ I know I won’t play well,” White said.
No appetite for a gap year
Despite diminished rosters and long recovery calendars for their stars, neither franchise plans to chase lottery odds. Carlisle said there has been “no internal talk” of a sabbatical season, while Stevens told reporters over the summer that competing remains the mandate. ESPN BET lists Boston with the seventh-best odds to win the East; Indiana sits ninth.
Copycat league takes notice
Rivals have studied the Pacers’ frenetic style that propelled last season’s Finals run. “When you disrupt the industry the way we did, it’s going to disrupt back,” Carlisle noted, predicting more physical resistance from opponents. White said Boston hopes to replicate Indiana’s relentless full-court pressure, calling the NBA a “copycat league.”
Leadership from the sidelines
Haliburton, already walking without a brace, has remained a daily presence at practice, encouraging teammates during shooting drills and embracing rehabilitation “like a beast,” according to Carlisle. Mazzulla praised Tatum’s involvement as well, saying the three-time All-NBA forward continues to influence younger Celtics even while sidelined.
For both clubs, player development now shares top billing with wins and losses. “We got guys that still have upside,” Carlisle said. “We want them to realize that upside.” Nesmith echoed the sentiment: “They haven’t believed in us in three years. We surprise them every single year.”
The Celtics visit Indiana on Dec. 12 in the first of three regular-season meetings, but the matchup’s star attractions are expected to watch from the bench. Whether either team can stay in the playoff hunt without its cornerstone will play out over the next six months—while Tatum and Haliburton focus on returning at full strength for seasons to come.
Source: ESPN
