No gap year here: How the Celtics and Pacers approach a season without their leaders

THERE ARE THREE caller banners hanging supra the main tribunal wrong the Indiana Paces grooming facility, crossed the thoroughfare from the team's arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse. On 1 extremity determination are retired jersey numbers, Reggie Miller's 31 and Mel Daniels' 34, and a banner each for Herb Simon, the team's politician since 1983 who was inducted into the Hall of Fame past year, arsenic good arsenic Jim Morris, a pivotal subordinate of the Indianapolis assemblage who held enactment roles successful the enactment up until his passing successful 2024.

On the different end, a caller banner for the 2024-25 Eastern Conference title softly hangs. It went up past week -- a fewer days aft the squad had already begun grooming campy -- without a corporate acknowledgement from the players and coaches arsenic they hole for the upcoming season.

"It was not present 1 day, up present the next," Pacers guardant Aaron Nesmith told ESPN.

The Pacers bash program to commemorate the banner astatine the arena earlier their regular play opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder connected Oct. 23, but Pacers manager Rick Carlisle said there's nary plans to dwell connected it for long.

"There's not going to beryllium a large happening astir it," Carlisle told ESPN aft signifier past week. "It was a large tally and truly a batch of astonishing things happened during that stretch. But you got to crook the page."

Such was the vibe astatine Pacers grooming camp, a squad inactive caller disconnected the glow of 1 of the astir improbable playoff runs to the Finals successful NBA history, portion besides wrestling with the disappointment of coming up abbreviated successful Game 7 and the consequences of a season-changing wounded to Tyrese Haliburton successful the archetypal 4th of that game.

Haliburton's torn Achilles was the latest specified wounded during the playoffs that has altered the trajectory of the 2025-26 Eastern Conference. The past 2 Eastern Conference champions volition beryllium missing their prima subordinate for astir of, if not, each of the play aft Boston Celtics prima Jayson Tatum tore his close Achilles successful the league semifinals. Boston had been to the league finals successful 3 consecutive seasons, and successful 4 of the past 5 seasons. Meanwhile, Indiana had made back-to-back league finals runs and appeared acceptable up arsenic good arsenic anyone successful the league to instrumentality with its young halfway and playoff experience.

It sets up some Boston and Indiana to endure an full play with their prima players astir surely unavailable -- the Pacers person ruled Haliburton retired for the play though the Celtics person not done the aforesaid for Tatum -- but besides with overmuch little expectations than accustomed for the 2 teams who person controlled the East successful caller years.

"I deliberation it's exciting," Celtics defender Derrick White told ESPN. "We're not the hunted anymore. But conscionable person that mindset of 'We're going to beryllium radical wrong' and vie astatine a precocious level."

In summation to losing their stars, bo...