Pacers GM Chad Buchanan On Improving Defense + More

Source: Nick Cammett / Getty

It’s hard to believe, but we’re only two weeks away from the start of the Pacers preseason.

That means before too long, we’ll get to watch Tyrese Haliburton and company follow up on a spectacular 2023-24 season that saw them make an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals, falling short against the Celtics.

The Pacers had a dynamic, fast-paced offense in 2023 that frequently overwhelmed opponents, but their Achilles heel proved to be one the opposite end of the court. Haliburton in particular was noted as needing to improve his defense, especially if he and the team want to take that next step and punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.

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On the Tuesday edition of The Ride With JMV, Pacers’ general manager Chad Buchanan and VP Ted Wu joined John live in studio. During their conversation, Kevin spoke about the Pacers defense, and where he thinks they get to in 2024.

“I think it’s going to be stressed in training camp. Our coaches, they talk about it every day. Jenny Boucek and Jim Boylen are really focused on our defense and they preach it each and every day. We were so, so gifted offensively last year, and our style of play was so unique and so successful that I think we felt like we can still win games when we’re not defending very well, but I think what the playoffs did for our guys, was they saw [that] okay, if you want to really be a championship level team, you’ve got to be able to buckle down and get stops. I meant the Celtics did that to us in the last couple of minutes. We were in 3 of those 4 games and it just came down to them getting stops when they needed to, and I think that sends a message to our team. It’s great to score points, and that’s going to win you a lot of games, but if you really want to be a contender and have a chance to win a championship, you’ve got to be able to buckle down and stop people.”

Chad also spoke about the experience from last year, and how the Pacers tune the outside noise out.

“I think all of our guys, the experience last year was positive for them obviously, but they also realize they hear people say ‘Well you got fortunate, you were playing an injured team, these guys were all out, there’s a little asterisk by your run.’ They hear that, and I think we have enough leadership on our team to keep us refocused. Last year’s over, every year is a new story, it’s a clean slate, every team in the league is trying to come at you now. You have expectations, and that will be different for some of our guys, but I think the leadership on our team is going to have to really step up for us in that regard.”

Listen to the full conversation between JMV, Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan and Pacers Vice President of Basketball Operations Ted Wu down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!

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