The Indiana Pacers have fixed one early-season headache and run straight into a bigger one.
At the beginning of the year, their problem was obvious: flat starts. Through their first three games, they gave up 30 points in each of the first and second quarters, which kept turning winnable nights into uphill climbs.
That issue has eased somewhat. But now the Pacers are dealing with something more damaging, and it’s showing up when games tighten late.
Without Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana has struggled badly to finish. It was outscored by 18 in the fourth quarter in Wednesday night’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and in the game before that it was beaten by 19 in the second half of an eight-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
That kind of drop-off makes sense to a point. Losing one of the NBA’s best organizers and clutch-time players is going to hurt. What’s harder to explain is how quickly the Pacers went from competent in those moments to completely overwhelmed.
The bigger picture is not flattering. Indiana is 2-3, and it has faced only one team that’s expected to be in the playoff race so far: Philadelphia. If the Pacers want to get back to the postseason, much less reach the level they envisioned for themselves, they have a lot more to clean up than just the injury report.
And this isn’t as simple as waiting for Haliburton to return.
The Pacers still have pieces that should help them function late. Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard can both handle the ball and create enough offense to keep things moving. Talent is not the issue here.
The real problem is how often Indiana works against itself.
Against the Sixers, both teams turned the ball over a lot - Indiana had 15 turnovers, Philadelphia had 16 - but the Sixers still managed to outscore the Pacers by eight in transition. That’s the kind of detail that keeps games from slipping away. Or, in Indiana’s case right now, the kind of detail that helps them slip away.
That’s the line separating good teams from great ones. Great teams can survive when one part of their game goes missing because they have enough other ways to win.
Good teams need their comfort zone. When they can’t get to it, everything starts to break down.
Right now, the Pacers are in the first category. With a healthy Ivica Zubac and Haliburton, they have enough offensive options and a defense that doesn’t surrender many extra possessions.
Haliburton raises their floor. But if Indiana wants to be more than a good team, the rest of the roster has to find a way to close.
In Other News...
Pacers Bench Gave Indiana Hope In A Loss That Raised Bigger Concerns
Quenton Jackson gave the Pacers a needed lift off the bench in their NBA Cup opener, scoring 24 points in a 145-125 loss to the Heat at Kaseya Center. Indianas reserves actually carried a real bright spot in an otherwise rough night, outscoring Miamis bench 58-35 and getting strong support from Jarace Walker and Kobe Brown, who helped keep the second unit competitive even as the game got away.
Walker finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Brown added nine points, six rebounds and four assists, but the bigger picture was harder to ignore. Indianas depth showed up, yet the result still pointed to larger issues the Pacers will need to sort through if they want the rest of their Cup run to look anything like the energy their bench brought in this one. [Read more 🡒]
Andrew Nembhard Is Suddenly Carrying A Pacers Burden That Keeps Growing
Andrew Nembhard has quietly become the Pacers most important stabilizer while Tyrese Haliburton works through a week-to-week hamstring strain, and the numbers from the last two games show just how much has landed on his shoulders. Over that stretch, Nembhard has piled up 40 points and 23 assists, including an 18-point, 14-assist night against the Philadelphia 76ers and a 22-point, 9-assist effort against the Miami Heat.
Rick Carlisle confirmed Haliburtons status and made clear the obvious priority is keeping the healthy bodies on the floor, which only sharpens the spotlight on Nembhards expanded role. For the Pacers, the immediate question is not just whether he can keep producing at this level, but how long they can ask him to keep carrying so much of the offense while one of their key creators remains out. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Coach Explains How Miami Picked Apart Indianas Defense
Miamis offense put Indiana in a bind from the opening stretch, and the final score reflected just how often the Pacers were forced to defend both the rim and the arc at the same time. The Heat rolled to a 145-125 win, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo combining for 58 points while Miami piled up 64 points in the paint and knocked down 18 threes.
Indiana assistant coach Lloyd Pierce pointed to the way Miamis interior pressure created problems throughout the night, then layered on the kind of perimeter shooting that can break a defense open fast. The Heat hit 13 of those three-pointers after halftime, a stretch that made the Pacers chase even more and left little margin for recovery once Miami found its rhythm. [Read more 🡒]