Pascal Siakam’s expanded workload has brought a new wrinkle to Indiana’s early-season picture: he’s suddenly doing a lot more damage on the glass.
Since Tyrese Haliburton’s hamstring tear, Siakam has been averaging 12 rebounds a game, and that extra work has helped him chip in nearly two more assists per game for a Pacers team that’s short on playmaking. The defensive numbers that usually help round out his impact - especially blocks and steals - have been mostly missing to open the season, but the rebounding surge is giving Indiana another way to squeeze value out of him while the roster is thin.
That’s part of what makes this stretch stand out. Rebounding is often treated like a specialist’s job, something reserved for the bigs and the grinders, even though it’s one of the most valuable things a team can do. Siakam is showing how much more there is to it when a player is asked to carry more of the load.
The Pacers have dropped both games since Haliburton went down, including a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers that featured a brutal fourth-quarter collapse. Siakam has clearly had to shoulder more on-ball responsibility, and by the end of games, that extra burden has shown. Andrew Nembhard has been in a similar spot.
Still, both players have handled the increased demands well enough. Nembhard just posted 14 assists while trying to patch over Indiana’s lack of true creators. Siakam, meanwhile, has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, even while taking on more of the shot-creation load with the league’s best shot creator sidelined.
What’s buried in this rough patch is a clue about how Indiana should function once Haliburton and the rest of the rotation are back. The ball has to keep moving, but this group is not the big three it was once thought to be.
It’s a team that can do a little of everything - if its players are put in position to do it.
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 🡒]