Pacers can't keep pace with Hawks, move on to host Warriors
A rough return home for the Pacers as they continue to cobble together lineups, but simply didn't have enough to hang with the Hawks on Friday night.
The Pacers fell to 0-5 on Friday night after losing to the Hawks, 128-108. Simply put, they just didn’t have enough to compete with the Hawks.
Worse yet, they host the Warriors on Saturday night, a team loaded with veteran (and healthy) firepower as the hits just keep coming for the good guys.
Prior to the game, Rick Carlisle revealed that Obi Toppin has a partial stress fracture in his foot that will require surgery and keep the high flyer grounded until at least February. Cool.
Once the game started, the Pacers trotted another new starting lineup, with Quenton Jackson in place of Ben Sheppard. This appeared to be a solid lineup across the board but it simply wasn’t enough. Despite the high level effort to move the ball and score, offense was a struggle while at the other end the Hawks were finding easy buckets, often at the rim.
At the half, I remarked on X: Pacers down 4 at the half despite Hawks leading fast break points 17-3 which also bolsters ATL’s points in the pain advantage to 34-16. Pacers working far too hard to keep pace at other end.
Honestly, it was impressive the Pacers were down just 63-59 at the break considering the variance in effort to get those points. Welp, after the break that gap revealed itself as the Hawks doubled up the Pacers 34-17 in the third quarter, fueled by a 10-0 run that included a layup, two free throws, a dunk, two more free throws, and a midrange 8-footer.
Too easy.
That put the Hawks up 21 and the Pacers chased from behind the rest of the way, but unable to make up any substantial ground before ending up down 20 at the final horn.
The defensive breakdowns were actually more frustrating than the offensive misses, but all a byproduct of the shuffling lineups with so much inexperience. Late help is actually no help when a point of attack defender can’t keep his man in front as the Hawks seemed to take turns attacking the rim. A 74 to 38 points in the pain differential is something that require a double-take (triple-take?).
Once again, the Pacers shot below 30% (27.7%) from behind the arc. Jarace Walker made 4 of 6 treys, but Ben Sheppard was 0 for 5 from deep and continues to become a challenge to play. He appears to be trying to draw and and-1 foul when shooting threes with no one around, contorting his body as he releases the shot. Honestly getting hard to watch.
With no rest for the weary, the Pacers have to reboot and welcome the Warriors to the Fieldhouse on Saturday night for a Steph-infused home crowd that should have plenty of juice. The Pacers simply have to get past the offensive frustrations that seem to have all pressing to do more than they need to leading to doing less as a collective group thanks to Pascal Siakam drawing more than his share of attention from the defense.
Oh, and the Pacers are now 0-1 in their NBA Cup group play which is the least of this team’s worries as we officially head into November.
As for the roster situation, Johnny Furphy has been upgraded to probable for the Dubs so hopefully he can get in the mix even if it is to take some lumps while gaining some experience by fire. The team was also granted a hardship exemption which they used to sign forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a 10-day contract to fill in Toppin’s spot for now.
TJ and Mathurin…get well soon!
Pacers vs. Warriors
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Saturday, November 1, 2025 - 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +11.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Quenton Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Jarace Walker, Isaiah Jackson
Warriors: Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Quentin Post
Injuries
Pacers: Johnny Furphy (ankle) - questionable, Obi Toppin (hammy) - out, Bennedict Mathurin (toe) - questionable, Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) - out, TJ McConnell (hammy) - out, Kam Jones (back) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Warriors: De’Anthony Melton (knee) - out, Alex Toohey (knee) - out