Pacers back in bounce-back mode when they open NBA Cup play against Heat
The Pacers let another winning opportunity slip away on the road when they stalled out in Orlando
Honestly…the resilience of the Pacers to move past a bad loss with a strong win is becoming tedious just 10 games into the season.
Considering the state of the Pacers (5-6) 11 games into the season, the complaints are admittedly unfair considering the loss of some many games played to injury by rotation players, including both back up centers. I get it.
Still, after the Pacers followed up an impressive 132-121 win over the Knicks with a 94-90 loss at Orlando on Wednesday. Yes, the Magic were smart to play big, even running Jonathan Isaac and Goga Bitadze together at times, which combined with the perimeter defense Jalen Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can flash makes for a rough matchup for the Pacers on a good night.
Rough and tough matchups can’t just explain away the loss, though. The Pacers themselves, played quite well defensively which was revealed by just giving up 94 points. But while Rick Carlisle praised his team’s general defensive effort, he was appropriately frustrated with the team struggling to rebound, particularly to close out defensive stops as the Magic grabbed 14 ORebs. Sorry, but getting the actual stop and more importantly THE BALL is the most important part of a good defensive possession.
The Pacers value for the ball was fleeting throughout the game. There were two separate rebounds the Pacers eventually corralled in the first half which had me saying to no one listening in my house: Get the ball! It was like two players were assuming the other would get it and eventually one of them picked it up, but there was a serious lack of urgency to get it and go.
At the offensive end, the Pacers had 17 turnovers along with having their shots blocked 10 times. Not all turnovers are created equal, but there were too many among those donations that were of the mind numbing variety. The Pacers were 16 for 40 shotting in the paint and missed half of 24 attempts at the rim. It seemed like they missed more.
Next to Pascal Siakam, who finished with 25 points on just 11 shots, Bennedict Mathurin was one of the most productive players with 23 points and 12 rebounds. However, Mathurin struggled trying to force too much in the lane, having his shot blocked four times. To his credit, Mathurin rallied late with 12 of the Pacers 18 points in the fourth quarter, giving them a chance at crunch time.
Tyrese Haliburton returned to struggling from behind the arc and Myles Turner was simply outplayed by Goga Bitadze. After the game, Goga made sure to express show much he enjoyed shoving a win and some solid play in the Pacers’ face. The up and down nature of Haliburton and Turner seem to mirror the results the Pacers are seeing.
The frustration emerges from all of the mess mentioned above and yet, the Pacers were winning heading into the fourth quarter, then scored only 18 points and STILL lost by just four points. There’s a good team in there that just can’t get rolling, yet.
Again, to be fair, the depth issues were put to the test and flipped the momentum of the game at the start of the fourth with Siakam playing with Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin, TJ McConnell and Johnny Furphy. The Magic took advantage of the patchwork lineup to reel off a 13-0 start and held the lead for the win.
Furphy earned that spot in the fourth quarter with his play earlier in the game which saw him score his first NBA bucket, after helping on defense to create a turnover, he dunked a run out to the delight of his teammates. He later showed his feel for the game, cutting baseline to score a reverse bucket and then scoring on a putback at the rim. Despite how young Furphy appears, there is plenty of game there to develop.
So, yeah…the good, the bad and the ugly were all on display in Orlando and now the Pacers look to bounce back against the Heat on Friday night in their first NBA Cup game. The Boom Baby court will be used as the suddenly soft East Group B is up for grabs. The Bucks and Pistons are 1-0 and the Heat and Raptors are 1-0 after the first round of games last Tuesday. While the Pacers still have injury issues, the Heat are expected to be without Jimmy Butler.
The Pacers flipped the mindset of their team and raised expectations around the league with their play in the NBA Cup last year. Seems like this year, the Pacers need to put forth the same type of effort to flip the mindset and raise expectations internally to prove to themselves they are as good as they expect. Something they can only prove on the court.
Pacers vs. Heat
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -4
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Ben Sheppard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Heat: Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Kevin Love, Bam Adebayo
Injuries
Pacers: Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out, Andrew Nembhard (knee) - out
Heat: Jimmy Butler (ankle) - out
Hi Tom. Love the write up, but I’m not sure I agree on how criticism of the team is “unfair.” The injuries to Nesmith, Nembhard, Jackson, and Wiseman are not the reason why Halliburton and Turner have played so poorly over 11 games. Yes, there are games where they have flashed, but their efficiency numbers are way down from where they were last year; Halliburton especially. The Pacers have very little chance of winning games if their max player is shooting under 40% from the field and 27% from 3. Tyrese must return to the form he showed last year this time. That he has played so poorly is a major reason for criticism.