The Pacers finally found something they can hang onto without Tyrese Haliburton, and it starts on the glass.
Indiana beat the Washington Wizards 114-101 on Wednesday night in its final game before a brutal stretch of seven games in two weeks against nonstop playoff teams and contenders. At 4-8, the Pacers have not looked like a good team, much less a steady one, but this win offered a possible path forward.
There were plenty of encouraging details in the result. Ivica Zubac, after a rough run to open the season, was dominant. Pascal Siakam also did damage at the line, getting there 12 times and knocking down every free throw he took.
Still, the bigger takeaway is what Indiana did as a group. With Haliburton out, the Pacers have had to search for ways to win that don’t rely on their star point guard setting the table.
Before Wednesday, those answers had not worked. The energy has been lacking, and aside from Andrew Nembhard, the team’s top players have not consistently filled the void.
That’s why rebounding matters so much now. When the offense isn’t creating juice, the Pacers have to manufacture it through toughness, effort and collective force.
After being badly beaten on the boards against the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana at least held even with Washington in offensive and defensive rebounding. That simple shift helped the Pacers get back to running and finding easy baskets for one another.
That has to become the standard. With Zubac and Siakam in the mix, Indiana has no business getting pushed around on the glass the way it has been.
And if Haliburton does return later on, he should be stepping into a system that lets him sprint into the break instead of having to cover every inch of the floor himself.
In Other News...
Pacers Already Face A Pressure Point With Haliburton Sidelined
The Pacers are already dealing with an early-season squeeze, and Tyrese Haliburtons hamstring injury has only sharpened the focus on what this roster looks like without its engine. Indiana has opened 4-8, a rough start shaped in part by injuries, and the front office is already weighing mid-tier roster moves as it tries to steady the season before the standings get away from it.
What makes the situation tricky is that the problems are not isolated to one spot. Indiana has questions in the backcourt and the frontcourt, and the team still needs more reliable offensive support around its core while getting more from center Ivica Zubac. For a group trying to get back into playoff contention, the next move may matter almost as much as Haliburtons return. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans Just Got A Tough Reminder About A Recent Favorite
Doug McDermotts NBA run is over, and for Pacers fans, it brings back a familiar face from a player who seemed to keep finding his way back to Indiana. The sharpshooter, who entered the league as a first-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent 12 seasons bouncing around the league and carved out a career with the Pacers, Bulls, Thunder, Knicks, Spurs and Kings.
What makes McDermotts retirement hit a little harder in Indiana is how often he reappeared in blue and gold across multiple stints. He finished his career with Sacramento, but for Pacers followers, hell be remembered as one of those useful, reliable veterans who fit into the rotation and always seemed to remain part of the conversation, even as his career kept moving from stop to stop. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Face A Tough Knicks Test With Little Margin For Error
The NBA Cup has already put the Pacers in a tricky spot, and now they get another tough assignment with little room to breathe. Indiana and New York both come in winless in group play, which only raises the stakes for a matchup that already looks difficult on paper, especially with the Pacers set to be without Tyrese Haliburton.
New York has been playing well enough to enter as the favorite, and the individual battles should tell plenty of the story. Karl-Anthony Towns and Ivica Zubac stand out as one of the frontcourt matchups to watch, while Andrew Nembhards defensive work against Jalen Brunson could go a long way toward deciding whether Indiana can keep this one close. [Read more 🡒]