Holy hell, we're a month away, baby.

I know some pundits are already chalking this season up as a wash for Indiana. It's hard to blame them, with the losses of Haliburton and Myles Turner. Haliburton was the engine of the offense, and without him, their identity is in flux.

With all that being said, I think there's still a chance that this will be a fun, competitive year for the Pacers. Another Finals run? Even I wouldn't go that far. However, I think this can still be a playoff team, and I'll give you a couple reasons why.

First of all, this team has never had a tanking DNA. In the last 30 seasons, the Pacers have picked in the top 10 only four times. Rarely will the opt to throw a season away, unless bad injury luck comes down the pipeline.

Secondly, this team is still pretty deep. Haliburton being out sucks major truck nuts, no doubt. But Pascal, Nembhard, and the rest of the boys are still here and are probably itching to get back to work after coming up just short in Game 7 of the Finals.

Siakam was an All-Star last season and continues to play at a high level. We've seen Nembhard's ability when he's the main table-setter on the offensive end. Bennedict Mathurin is still just 23 years young and he's going to get a chance to prove some things this year as the starting 2 guard. And Nesmith is just a dog, plain and simple.

Sure, there are some questions that need to be answered. What is Jarace Walker's ceiling in year 3? Will younger players like Johnny Furphy or Kam Jones be able to crack the rotation? What will the center rotation look like? All fair questions that will need to be addressed, but I still think this roster can be somewhat competitive.

Lasty, the coach of this team is still Rick mother f'n Carlisle. If there's one guy I know that can adapt to setbacks and still maniacally scheme up W's, it's slick Rick. Imagine walking up to that psychopath and saying "yeah man we're gonna need you to throw the season away". He'd rather be 6 feet under.

The Pacers over/under for wins on Fanduel is 37.5. I think the squad can win 40 games this year, so I'm going over. You know what team wins 40 games every season? The Chicago Bulls. Why should I think the Bulls are better than how the Pacers are currently constructed.

So is the play-in tournament probably where this team lands? I'd say that's a good guess. But hey, I'll never turn down the potential for post season hoops, even if your squad is a 8 seed.

I also don't want to watch my favorite team try and lose games. If injuries destroy your season, then so be it. However, the shit Utah and Washington were doing last season to try to get the first pick was downright disgraceful. The basketball gods rewarded their bullshit by handing the Cooper Flagg to the Dallas Mavericks.

This is kind of the Pacer way, though. Overlooked and forgotten. Just some lowly corn people from the state of Indiana. Might serve as a little motivation this year.

Now, here's a video of Siakam laying the hammer down:

Let's have some fun this year.

-WhataMark