Halfway Home: Pacers drop one to Cavs, Mathurin suspended, Nesmith and Haliburton upgraded
The Pacers finished a wild first 41 games of the season with a loss to Cleveland and a 22-19 record, but find themselves in far better shape for the second half than at the start of the season.
The Pacers dropped a 127-117 loss to the Cavs on Tuesday in what was an intriguing matchup with playoff vibes as the teams completed their home-and-home series with a split.
Prior to the game, Cavs’ coach Kenny Atkinson seemed almost happy his squad lost the first game in Cleveland in order to help his team and staff replicate the playoff process of game-to-game adjustments against the same opponent.
It was no surprise that a heavy dose of zone defense was among those adjustments which has slowed down the Pacers on several occasions this season. In this case, it sped up the Cavaliers because the Pacers, without Tyrese Haliburton struggled to take what the zone was giving them, particularly in the second half.
Red Xs are not good and the Pacers struggled to hit the open shots in the middle of the zone, including Andrew Nembhard who was just 2 for 7 in what is normally his sweet spot. Jarace Walker didn’t have many opportunities but may be an option going forward. The Pacers have executed their way out of the zone before (see Miami) but couldn’t get it going against the Cavs.
Those stops fueled the Cavs’ top offense to get out and attack the Pacers before being able to set their defense, particularly the full court pressure they wanted to apply after made shots.
The Cavs jumped out of the gate, again with an 8-2 burst to start the game and the Pacers were able to keep pace from there and draw within one point at 62-61 thanks to making the Cavs uncomfortable with full court pressure which didn’t always lead directly to a turnover but the disruption lead to pass to a bad spot that lead to a turnover. The Pacers closed the half on a 8-3 run and that pressure lead to 6 second quarter turnovers played a big role.
So, the effective Cavs’ zone in the second half, or if you prefer, the ineffective Pacers’ zone offense in the second half, flipped the game for good to the the Cavs on both ends of the floor.
The game was plenty entertaining as far as Pacers losses go. Adding some fire to the proceedings was Bennedict Mathurin who earned three technical fouls. Mathurin finished one of those forced turnovers on the break with a dunk, but was then given a technical for pulling up on the rim. Brutal call considering the time and situation of the game, but the letter of the law was broken. The same ref hit Mathurin with a foul late in the game (correct call) and Mathurin boiled over complaining and brushing the ref to get a double-technical and tossed.
The league suspended Mathurin for a game so he will not be available in Detroit on Thursday night.
Interestingly after Mathurin was suspended, Aaron Nesmith’s injury status was upgraded from out to questionable, so we may see some initial minutes back on the court for Nesmith for the first time since early November. Tyrese Haliburton is also upgraded from doubtful to questionable. Again, let’s now rush Haliburton back, right?
As for Nesmith, it has be peculiar that he has been out so long with a sprained ankle considering he’s been seen moving pretty well on the ankle since early December. I’ve been speculating that maybe he is not happy with the presumed role he may have upon return considering how well the current starting lineup has performed which would likely have Nesmith filling a reserve role. Could recent trade rumors not be the Pacers wanting to deal Nesmith, but instead Nesmith wanting to be dealt where the rotation for his position isn’t so clogged?
Regardless, Nesmith returning and playing (after Mathurin’s suspension) creates a minutes mess that from game-to-game could impact Ben Sheppard, Jarace Walker, Mathurin, Obi Toppin, as well as Nesmith.
Again, there’s no doubt Rick Carlisle doesn’t want to lose any of those options and would love to have the problem of all of those guys healthy and ready to go. But that’s a two-way street, so we will have to see how the players manage the mixing and matching of lineup combinations from game-to-game.
Like the first half of the season, the second half tips off in Detroit against a Pistons team that is a mere half game behind the Pacers in the standings, currently riding a stretch of winning 10 of their last 12 games. As he was on opening night, Cade Cunningham remains an absolute problem, averaging 24.5 points, 9.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Pacers vs. Pistons
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
When: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +1.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Pistons: Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren
Injuries
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - questionable, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Pistons: Jaden Ivey (leg) - out