Pacers hit the road with little margin for success
While the Pacers continue to lose, there is little breathing room available to...win.
The Pacers closed out their homestand on Sunday evening with a 125-106 loss to the Grizzlies. Beaten on the glass while giving up 25 points on 19 turnovers highlighted a well worn path to the loss for the home team, their sixth consecutive loss following the All-Star break.
The Pacers bigs shot the ball well, lead by Jarace Walker finding the range on 4 of 5 3-balls, while Jay Huff and Micah Potter each made 2 of 3 attempts from behind the arc. However, the Grizz shot it better overall with seven different players scoring in double figures, lead by Taylor Hendricks who made 5 of 8 threes off the bench to score 19 points.
Seems like all of those threes for Hendricks came on kickouts to the left corner. I didn’t check to confirm that is true. It really isn’t that important.
While trying to continue rewiring the ol’ brain for what’s left of this Pacers season, it is amazing to see that while their six consecutive losses made up for the back-to-back wins in New York and Brooklyn before the break, settling the Pacers in a tie for second place in the inverted standings, they literally have no room to exhale.
The Nets have continued losing since the Pacers beat them and have finally caught up with the Pacers in the loss column while both teams remain stuck on 15 wins. The Kings recently won but have played two more games than the Pacers and are holding at 14 wins, while the Wizards are game behind having also lost 6 consecutive.
With the lineups the Pacers have been trotting out of late, it is not like they could turn it on in any game and win. But, as they begin their current road trip out west, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith are all upgraded to questionable after missing the last game.\
The Pacers seem to have picked their spots to let ‘er rip in certain games this year. Against, OKC and the Knicks in particular. With the Clippers up next, could this be one of those games the Pacers go all in. You know Bennedict Mathurin will be hungry to hunt buckets all night. Will the Pacers let him go or will they throw some Nembhard and Nesmith pressure at him. Even if all of those Pacers play, the Clips have Darius Garland in the mix now and with Kawhi Leonard anchoring a rather dynamic rotation, the Clips will still have an advantage.
The other end of the equation is what will the Clippers do. They are working their way into improved playoff or at least, play in positioning but with the way the Western Conference currently stands, at least making that play in won’t be a problem. Plus, if the Pacers win that could improve the Clips’ chances of landing the 5 thru 9 spot in the NBA draft.
Whew, a few paragraphs in and hardly a word about the actual basketball on the court aside from the Mathurin subplot.
This is the life we’ve chosen at least for this season.
Speaking of Mathurin, here is a thoughtful clip from the former Pacer as he prepares to face his old team. Much love for the young fella who will always compete like hell and surely try to have a big game so he can let his former teammates know about it.
Pacers vs. Clippers
Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, CA
When: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 10:30 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +12.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Kam Jones, Ben Sheppard, Jarace Walker, Jay Huff
Clippers: Kris Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, Kobe Sanders, Derrick Jones Jr., Brook Lopez
Injuries
Pacers: Obi Toppin (foot) - probable, Andrew Nembhard (back) - questionable, Pascal Siakam (wrist) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - questionable, Ivica Zubac (ankle) - out, Johnny Furphy (knee) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Clippers: John Collins (arm) - out, Bradley Beal (hip) - out