Pacers Spin the Rotation Blender, Insert Jarace Walker for Friday Night Track Meet
The Indiana Pacers are shaking up their starting lineup against the Dallas Mavericks, swapping Kelly Oubre Jr. for Jarace Walker alongside Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.
HotTakes Editorial TeamUpdated 1 min read
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The Indiana Pacers are officially spinning the rotation blender ahead of their Friday night clash with the Dallas Mavericks. According to Underdog NBA, Indiana is rolling out a starting five of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Jarace Walker, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac.
Swapping out Kelly Oubre Jr. for the 22-year-old Walker is the exact kind of late-week chaos that sends fantasy managers scrambling to the waiver wire. It is essentially trading a wildly unpredictable sports car for a mystery box right before facing a Western Conference heavyweight.
"Underdog NBA reported: 'Lineup alert: Pacers will start Haliburton, Nembhard, Walker, Siakam, Zubac on Friday.'"
For anyone staring at player props, this dual point-guard backcourt is where the real money is made or lost. Haliburton running the show alongside Nembhard guarantees an absolute track meet of a basketball game.
Nembhard is already looking like a massive value play after dropping 21.5 points in just 20 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks last week. When you pair that efficiency with a team that just survived a 123-120 shootout against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, the over on total points starts looking like a magnet.
Down low, Siakam continues to be the only predictable thing about this roster. He is currently averaging a clean 24 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, providing a massive safety net for a lineup that loves to play at warp speed.
Throwing Walker into the starting mix against Dallas is a massive heat check for the young forward. He has shown flashes, but asking him to hold his own in a high-stakes Friday night matchup is a completely different assignment.
If this new starting five clicks, Indiana has the offensive firepower to run the Mavericks right out of the building. If the experiment crashes, expect the coaching staff to hit the reset button before they travel to face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Key stats
Pascal Siakam is averaging 24.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Andrew Nembhard recently scored 21.5 points in 20 minutes against the Bucks.
The Pacers are coming off a 123-120 win over the Pelicans.
What's next
The Pacers will see how this lineup fares against the Mavericks before deciding on their rotation for Sunday's game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Key stats



