Pascal Siakam Sounds the Alarm on Pacers’ Losing Mentality: “Nobody is Going to Feel Sorry for Us”
Pascal Siakam isn't sugarcoating anything. After the Pacers’ 111-94 loss to the Bucks - their sixth straight defeat - the veteran forward took a hard look at his team’s mindset, and he didn’t like what he saw.
At 6-24, Indiana’s season has gone from bad to worse, and Siakam made it clear in his postgame comments that the problem isn’t just about Xs and Os - it’s about attitude.
“When we decide that losing is not OK, we’re gonna go somewhere,” Siakam said. “But if we go out there every single day and it just feels like, okay, we lost another game, it does not matter, we’re just gonna keep sinking.”
That’s not just frustration talking - that’s leadership. Siakam, who put up 15 points in the loss, is holding his team accountable. And he’s not mincing words about what it’s going to take to turn things around.
“We have to make it happen. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.
We can’t blame the schedule. The day that we decide that we’re tired of it, I think we’re gonna go somewhere.”
It’s a message that cuts through the noise. This isn’t about waiting for a savior or hoping for a softer stretch of games. For Siakam, the fix starts internally - with urgency, pride, and a refusal to accept losing as the norm.
A Season Spiraling Without Haliburton
This has been a brutal follow-up to the Pacers’ surprise run to the NBA Finals last season. The loss of Tyrese Haliburton - who tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals against Oklahoma City - has left a massive void. And while no one player can replace what Haliburton brought to the floor, the drop-off has been steep.
Siakam, acquired last season to bolster the Pacers’ playoff push, has done his part statistically. He’s averaging 23.8 points per game, a steady presence in an otherwise unstable year. But even he knows that numbers don’t mean much when they’re attached to loss after loss.
The issue now isn’t just talent - it’s identity. This is a team that’s lost its edge, and Siakam is trying to reignite the fire.
“Like, who cares? We just lost another game, it doesn’t matter.
I don’t like that feeling,” he said, describing the mood in the locker room. “And if we don’t decide to change that, it’s not gonna change.”
That’s a veteran speaking from experience. Siakam knows what a winning culture looks like - he helped build one in Toronto. And right now, he’s not seeing it in Indiana.
A Test Against the Celtics
The Pacers’ next shot at redemption comes Friday against the Celtics, a team that’s dealt with its own injury adversity but has managed to stay afloat at 18-11. It’s the kind of matchup that could either spark a shift in attitude or expose the same issues Siakam is calling out.
What’s clear is that the Pacers can’t rely on outside circumstances to bail them out. Not the schedule.
Not a trade. Not a miraculous recovery.
As Siakam put it, *“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.” *
That’s the harsh truth. But sometimes, that’s exactly what a team needs to hear.
Siakam has drawn the line. Now we’ll see if the rest of the Pacers are ready to step across it.