Time flies, doesn't it? Pacers basketball is officially back on TV as of tonight.

Our pre-season begins with a trip to Atlanta to face off with Cody Zeller Trey Young and the Hawks. Should be a fun way to ease back in given that the Pacers broke 150 points in three of the four matchups with Atlanta last year.

Speaking of points, the league did its annual survey of General Managers and the Pacers were voted the most fun team to watch and as having the best offense.

But don't think the Pacers are league darlings all of a sudden. There was still plenty of disrespect to feed our underdog souls.

7th in the East? 3rd best passer? Bulletin board material.

In fact, Puma just gave us the perfect social media ammo for whenever we prove the doubters wrong this season. To announce Tyrese's well deserved signing as a signature athlete for the brand, they released a great little video of his dad laughing at people who doubted him.

I hope fans of the Bucks, Knicks, and whoever else makes it a point to trash us are ready for that chuckle to haunt their dreams.

What to Expect on the Court in '24-'25

We more or less know what to expect since the team is more or less the same as last year. And just like last year, the team has more depth than playing opportunity so the competition for minutes will be as cutthroat as ever.

In that spirit, let's revisit who stood out during training camp to see if we can glean any clues about how the rotation will shake out at the beginning of the season.

Ben Sheppard

Sheppard and Nembhard are similar to me. As rookies, both players were able to carve outsized roles in the rotation compared to their lottery-selected draftmates on the back of tenacious defense and, frankly, just being older.

Going into the second year, it's easy to overlook guys like that based on the assumption that the "younger, more talented" players will now start catching up in experience and maturity. But as we saw with Nembhard last year, make that assumption at your own peril.

Sheppard's motor and tenacity make him a perfect fit for the way the Pacers want to play and it's going to be hard to dislodge him from his minutes... especially if his shot starts falling.

Jarace Walker

What about the lottery baby who we're all rooting for? Well, if I had to wager, I'd say he still has an uphill climb to achieving consistent minutes – but at least all of the news out of training camp has been positive!

He made it to the one-on-one competition finals twice and has everyone praising his work ethic.

Hopefully having an off-season as Pascal's mentee has unlocked the combination of intensity and motor that the Pacers staff consider a prerequisite to putting him on the court.

Bennedict Mathurin

And what about the other lottery baby that, well most of us, are rooting for? Long story short, he's back from injury and as competitive as ever.

Love him or hate him, he's hard charging and not afraid to take up space. I truly believe the team needs that element so hopefully it pushes everyone forward once the games begin (in a few hours!).

New Rules, New Game?

Apparently, we can expect the officials to allow more contact this year. I, for one, welcome this development. It may slow down the Pacers' offense slightly but the incessant foul baiting made the game hard to enjoy at times last year.

I Am The Motion Now

The Pacers unveiled a new slogan in "Yes, 'Cers" but I think Myles Turner has already made that obsolete.

Starting tonight, we are all the motion now.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:30 PM ET.

TV: NBA TV

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

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