Frustration mounts as Pacers’ slide continues

The Pacers came out strong in Toronto and put forth a quality effort against the Raptors, but didn’t have enough in the end to put a win in play late in the game. With the rotation tightening due to injuries and desperation, the minutes are mounting but not any more than the frustration with the results.

Getting beat on the boards, offering up too many points on turnovers and getting hurt at the free throw line are often key effort indicators of losses for the Pacers and all were in play in Toronto. The Raps only made a third of their free throw attempts but still made more (23) than the Pacers attempted (21).

Ryan McNeil of Athletes Unfiltered shared a post-game video which shows the frustration oozing from a few of the players, as well as coach Nate McMillan.

Chicago and Atlanta play on Saturday and a win by the Bulls would push them in to a tie with the Pacers and in possession of the eighth spot in the East via tie breaker. That actually may end up favoring the Pacers since Atlanta appears more likely to fall down the standing and leave the option for the final game of the season against the Pacers to decide the final playoff spot.

But that assumes the Pacers can win more games down the stretch than Atlanta. Unfortunately, the Pacers are running out of time to flip that frustration into wins.