A visual representation of Kelly Oubre's funny quote about running into a Zu screen this week. 💪

Protect this man at all costs

I never took preseason games too seriously before, but its pretty cool just how integral preseason games are to building the chemistry, esp seeing the progress of the Hali-Zu connection from Game 1 and 3.

Interesting to note: Ty wasn't supposed to play in OKC, but decided to since he missed the game vs the Hawks. 🤯

Love that these guys ask fan questions and not the media questions, and that Coach Carlisle answers so elaborately 👏.

DAZN is supposed to be free for "Pacers season ticket holders".

As somebody with only a half-season ticket package, I explicitly asked my ticket rep a couple weeks ago if those of us with lowly half-season plans will get a free DAZN pass. He responded by saying something like "yeah just give us a little bit to get access codes out."

Still haven't heard anything. With DAZN pricing going up soon, I'm wondering if anybody here is able to confirm/deny that half-season packages = free DAZN?

Thanks!

Turned on Wheel of Fortune, and look at that! Pacer fan.

Just dipping in in reverse order. It's all basically Nesmith until the Topps era, when it broadens into Pacers team. We've worked our way through prospectus and the still woefully incomplete Topps Update (3 Nesmiths and a McConnell). Now we are to the meat of a pretty significant year if you are an Indiana fan and/or Topps collector.

Not only do the inspiring shots of the '25-26 sets reflect the Pacers' superlative NBA Finals effort of 2025, but they are the first licensed Topps issue since '09-10, Curry's rookie season. In other words, a Hobby milestone.

The Bowman legacy... one of the OG card manufacturers, the 1948 Bowman rookie George Mikan #69 a touchstone for vintage basketball collectors. A PSA 3 just sold at auction with 33 bids for $7,150 (from the PSA Vault on eBay). Then there is the famous 1951 Mantle Bowman rookie, overshadowed in price and image recognition by the 1952 Topps. At that time Topps and Bowman were fierce competitors.

I remember when the Bowman brand was purchased by Topps in the early 1990s and came out with some classic cardboard, even cheaper than Topps flahship (and with gum!). And when Bowman Chrome emerged as the "first" baseball rookie—the player's sought after iteration (more than Topps flagship even) in the late 1990s.

I think for basketball rookies it has always been Topps Chrome first. Except of course '86 Fleer and the Panini era (2010-2025), when there was no Topps.

The current Bowman reboot uniquely combines college, pro, women's, and men's, which I like. Collector-investors actually found this a demerit, which depressed prices compared with Topps Chrome and made these surprisingly affordable.

I consider this basically a complete team set of '25-26 Bowman rarities. Arguably, a reptilian /25 (a parallel I really like) being the best Haliburton could be improved. But other than that, I think I have the bases covered. Two each true black /10s of Nembhard, Siakam, and Nesmith. True black /10s of all the others except Myles Turner (who cares?) and the addition of a Zubac (he had just been acquired when Bowman came out).

On the Nesmith front, this is not technically a base card, it's an auto issue, all of which are numbered (the regular silver is /499). At that point, not expecting a Topps Update surprise, I was giving up hope there would be a Nesmith base card at all during the seminal "first Topps" year. This is probably my favorite AA card ever made design wise. I think it actually positions him as a star on the team, you can tell the players' status by the image selected. I also really like the images for Obi, Siakam, and Taelon Peters (wonder if he makes the Spurs roster?) Haliburton's expression reminds me of the famous 96-97 Allen Iverson "cry baby" Topps rookie.

Folks, we getting respect here. Simmons, winner of Pacers/Knicks wins the finals

All 3 took the over on the Pacers.

TL;DR: Tyrese is back. In his last full season he had a 5.6 assist-to-turnover ratio while scoring 18.6 on 61.6% TS, set up more shots per minute on the ball than anyone but Jokić, and the Pacers were +3.5 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.

In April 2025, Haliburton was the top answer when The Athletic asked 158 NBA players who the league’s most overrated player is. Two months later he was in Game 7 of the Finals. With him back from the Achilles, I pulled the NBA.com data from 2024-25, his last full season.

What the data shows:

• Historic ball security. 5.6 assists per turnover. Among seasons with 7+ assists a game, only Tyus Jones (‘24, 12 ppg) and Muggsy Bogues (‘90, 9 ppg) were higher. Chris Paul’s best season was 4.7, Stockton’s 4.3. Trae Young had 207 more assists last season, and it cost him 235 more turnovers.
• Hot potato. 84 touches a game (among the 30 players who hold the ball most, only Trae and Jokić had more), but just 6 seconds per touch. Catch, read, release.
• Every second counts. 1.85 potential assists (passes that lead straight to a shot) per minute holding the ball, 2nd only to Jokić (2.05). LeBron 1.78, Luka 1.25, SGA 0.95, Brunson 0.82.

*Playmakers = top 40% of the league in assist rate.

Where it’s not that simple:

• Low scoring load. Only 21% of Pacers plays end with him (shot, free throws or turnover), low for a star. He makes the offense run rather than carrying it as a scorer.
• On/off is noisy. It depends on lineups and teammates, so it’s a clue, not proof.
• The Achilles question. An Achilles affects the first step, not the reads. The test this season is whether the 5.6 comes back with him.

My take: creates like a star, uses the ball like a role player. If the decisions come back, the next anonymous poll should come with full names.

Curious what you think. Is assist-to-turnover an overrated stat, or is this the most underrated skill in the league?

(I make these NBA data breakdowns regularly, more on IG u/weilbros*)*

Picking up right where he left off.

Not sure what's wrong, but it feels shady. DAZN offers the deal, and I click the deal. I try to sign up for the deal, and it simply tells me "No key found!" and I can't actually purchase the deal. Meanwhile it'll zoom me right to checkout if I agree to pay the non-promotional rate. Anyone else struggling with this?

I know it's just preseason but man Benn looks washed. Like he gave up on life. He has not improved at all and it makes me really sad. Wanted him to become an all star

My heart fell out of my ass when the OKC player went down at the same place Hali did …. With seemingly the same injury😭

Welcome back to The Kittle Things presented by ‪@T-Mobile‬! An Iowa rivalry heats up this week as George and Claire welcome their friends and Iowa State grads, Tyrese and Jade Haliburton! The couples talk college rivalries, bonding over Achilles injuries, WWE, and so much more.

If all of these things happen the Pacers are legit title contenders:

• Haliburton is at least 95% of the old Haliburton
• Zubac fits in on both ends
• Siakam and McConnell don't have age-related declines
• The obligatory "everyone is relatively healthy" caveat

If just one of the above does not happen they won't be contenders, and it's entirely possible that they miss the playoffs in a crowded East if things really go wrong (their odds to miss the playoffs are somewhere around 1-in-3)

Anyways it's fun to go into a season with a Pacers team like this with real upside since there have been so many teams over the years with very low ceilings

I thought you guys might appreciate this.