Hard to guard Pacers are back, again in win over Kings
The Pacers backed up their impressive in in Phoenix with another strong outing at both ends of the floor in Sacramento, rolling to their fourth consecutive win.
This is what continuity was supposed to look like for the Pacers. After essentially running back the roster that made a run to the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, getting off to a good start to the season should have been a given.
But alas, between starting the full grind and a series of impactful injuries, the continuity plan appeared to crash and burn. Fortunately, a stretch of off days for practice and some improved health with Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard back in the rotation, allowed the Pacers to reset and they seem to have found the identity we last saw in that deep playoff run.
After outscoring the Kings 70-43 in the second half on Sunday, the Pacers rolled to a 122-95 win on the heels of another outstanding effort in Phoenix. The offense is firing on all cylinders once, again and looking like the team that Joe Mazzulla and Derrick White lauded as being so hard to guard for the champion Celtics, despite the ECF sweep.
Kings reserve guard, was frustrated after having to deal with the Pacers on Sunday night and compared what he saw to what is missing with the Kings:
“If you look at their (Pacers) style of play, look at who we played tonight. You guys watched the game, the way that they move and flow. They don’t run a lot of plays, they’re unselfish, they play with intent. TJ McConnell kicked our ass most of the night. At times we play like that or used to play like that and sometimes we just revert.”
Honestly, amazing to hear this type of praise compared to what we were seeing even five games ago. The Pacers are 5-5 in their last 10 games, but their offensive and defensive rating over those 10 games improved to the middle of the pack in the NBA. Over the 4-1 stretch of the last five games, the Pacers offense is ranked fifth and the defense is sixth. Small sample size theater for sure, but still exposing the level of play this team is capable of if they can maintain a consistent effort.
The Pacers struggled without Nembhard and Sheppard in the lineup, but were able to get valuable minutes for their young players, particularly Jarace Walker and Johnny Furphy. Those players have improved despite not always helping win games. In fact, Furphy was expected to be in the G-League most of the year, but has shown he can fill a role off the bench. Still, Quinn Buckner made a good point in an earlier game, that while Furphy looked solid and promising along with other players like Quenten Jackson, Nembhard and Sheppard take the rotation to another level that is ready to win now.
That’s what the Pacers have done in their last four games…win. And doing so with an offense looking like the elite unit from last year while the defense is showing signs of improvement from last season, as shown above.
Myles Turner was so strong against the Kings dealing much of the night with ol’ friend, Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis scored 17 points on 22 shots and grabbed 21 rebounds (several on his own misses) but Turner was so stout contesting and altering shots around the rim. Turner finished with just two blocks, but was all over the plays defending the paint and did so in just 24 minutes, not needing to return in the fourth quarter. Check out this highlight reel from the legend @AKRileyy5 on X to get a taste of how Turner held up his end of the defense.
Kings reserve guard, was frustrated after having to deal with the Pacers and compared what he saw to what is missing with the Kings:
“If you look at their (Pacers) style of play, look at who we played tonight. You guys watched the game, the way that they move and flow. They don’t run a lot of plays, they’re unselfish, they play with intent. TJ McConnell kicked our ass most of the night. At times we play like that or used to play like that and sometimes we just revert.”
TJ McConnell? Yeah, he was three rebounds shy of a Lance-style triple double with 12 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Pascal Siakam shook off a rough first half (2 for 9 shooting) to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Sheppard made all four of his three-point attempts, including a late third quarter three to fend off what would be a last gasp run by the Kings.
As the Pacers blew things open in the fourth quarter, there were plenty of fun highlights, including Jarace Walker stealing Tyrese Haliburton’s flow with an off the back board pass to himself which he then threw out to Thomas Bryant for a corner three in front of a jubilant bench. James Johnson then got crafty on the baseline and delivered a pass to Furphy for a finish at the rim.
Most importantly, the bench celebrating these plays included all of the starters except Benn Mathurin, getting extra rest with a game against slated for Golden State on Monday night. Haliburton and Mathurin played about 30 minutes each, but no one else played over 30 minutes, so the full rotation should be in decent shape to go against a Warriors team that is a little dinged up and a little frustrated after losing three of their last four games.
The Pacers have to remain on edge and deliver another consistent effort to finish this three-game road trip with a win. Again, hard to imagine a week ago at this time that the Pacers would be playing so well and have a chance to sweep this roadie. But here we are and with two full days off after returning in the wee hours on Tuesday morning, the Pacers can move back to .500 and be in good shape physically and mentally to attack the vicious remaining four game schedule to close out December.
Pacers vs. Warriors
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
When: Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network/NBA TV
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +6
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Warriors: Steph Curry, Dennis Schröder, Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Trayce Jackson-Davis
Injuries
Pacers: Ben Sheppard (oblique) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Warriors: Draymond Green (leg) - questionable, Moses Moody (knee) - questionable
Happy Holidays Tom!