The Pacers are on the verge of making history. A loss tonight would set the franchise record for consecutive Ls. Surely, there's nothing our division rivals would love more than to help us achieve that spot in the record books.
The thing with this Pacers team is that I'm not sure what winning even looks like and frankly neither do they. We've seen good stretches of basketball – even against top competition – but they simply let go of the reins for stretches and inevitably torpedo the game. I guess that trait shouldn't be a total surprise. It's something this group has been doing consistently for the past two years. However, we don't have Tyrese Haliburton or the league's best offense to fall back on anymore. Now, once we're in a hole, we tend to stay there.


The Cavs are 5-5 over their last 10 but went 3-1 on their recent western road trip. As we've come to expect from them, they are very good on both sides of the ball and have no glaring weaknesses. In the past, the Pacers have been able to beat them with pace but I'm not sure that favors us tonight. We'll just need to play solid, mistake-free basketball and hope that we catch some breaks.
Tony Bradley Waived
The team let the reserve center go a few days before his contract became guaranteed. According to Bobby Marks, that leaves us just shy of $6M below the tax.
Indiana announced that they have waived Tony Bradley.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 5, 2026
Bradley was 1 of 32 players that are set to have their contracts guaranteed if not waived by 5PM ET. on Wednesday.
The Pacers will take on a $1,355,225 cap hit.
Indiana is now $5.9M below the tax and has an open roster…
We'll see if the team brings Bradley back on a 10-day for depth while Jackson remains out or if they'll keep the roster spot open for the time being.
Injuries
Luckily, Donovan Mitchell is getting a rest day today, so that's one major concern the Pacers won't have to worry about. Max Strus and Larry Nance Jr. are also sidelined.
For the Pacers, it seems like Benn Mathurin will be out for a while.
Rick Carlisle on Benn Mathurin's timeline to return:
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) January 6, 2026
"How long will he be out? Not sure."
How to Watch
Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.
TV: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
See ya in the comments!
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