Pacers keep grinding after third consecutive win
The Pacers wrap up their homestand against the Pistons on Friday after beating the Blazers on Wednesday in their quest to get back over .500 for the season.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving for one an all to go along with my sincere appreciation for all of you following and supporting my work tracking this continual team building exercise called the Indiana Pacers.
Hard to believe how wild the ride has been throughout the first quarter of the season (or that we are at the quarter pole of the season already), but here we are waiting on the Pacers to play the Pistons in the annual ‘tree’ lighting game the day after Thanksgiving which will be the 20th game of the year.
This will also be the fourth consecutive home game for the Pacers after three consecutive wins to open the homestand in their effort to climb back to .500 before hitting the road next week. One more win will do it. On paper all four of these games were quite winnable, as common sense and the betting odds revealed before each tip (Pacers -5.5 tonight).
But how many times have the Pacers stumbled in such situations over the recent past and simply not taken care of business. To me, Wednesday stood out as a red flag game just because of the dynamic guards Portland could throw at the Pacers. But the lead dogs in Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton wouldn’t let it happen, along with another double-double to fortify the effort from Benn Mathurin.
None of these three wins have been worthy to hang in a museum, but again, taking care of business is far more important than style points as this team tries to find its groove and confidence as a shorthanded group on survival mode.
Siakam’s team high 29 points lead the way along with his side dishes of 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Haliburton’s effort was a bit noisier but equally huge with 28 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. He made 5 of 10 threes raise his season 3P% to a hair under 34% and made all 7 free throw attempts which has his FT% at 85.5%. Consistency from Haliburton is far more important than how he’s feeling but doing his part in delivering wins should make him happy.
It was also nice to see Bennedict Mathurin get some shots falling once again, making 3 of 5 from behind the arc with 24 points on 16 shots while logging 40 minutes. The young fella can go all day and Carlisle has been riding him heavy minutes of late.
Quenton Jackson has also emerged as a fun subplot during this discombobulated season that has seen the two-way player in the starting lineup of late including all three wins this week. He’s certainly a different type of player than Andrew Nembhard but he’s filling in with a defensive mindset that allows him to cover the best guard on the other team. He’s a straight menace on the ball, if only he was as big as Nembhard. But what he is has been a boost to the Pacers as he does all of the dirty work, which against Portland included a filthy lob dunk off a pass from Haliburton to put the Pacers up 10 points with just over 4 minutes to play.
Pistons in for NBA Cup game
The Pacers renew their rivalry with the Pistons on Friday night which will also be the third NBA Cup game for the Pacers. At 0-2 in their group, the Pacers would need some miracle results around the league to finish 2-2 AND improve enough in point differential to earn a wild card. Honestly, not worth the math effort to figure that one out.
Regardless, the Pistons are very much in the mix with a 2-0 group record, so the motivation for the Pacers will be in a spoiler role. The Pacers needed a furious fourth quarter rally to earn a season-opening win in Detroit, 115-109.
Cade Cunningham was a problem, scoring 28 points with 10 assists. Cunningham has missed the last three games with a hip injury and the Pistons are 1-2 in those games. He remains questionable against the Pacers.
With the NBA Cup stakes in the mix, along with the festive atmosphere of the post-tree lighting crowd, the Fieldhouse should be a buzz. At this point, the Pacers are less concerned about the NBA Cup, instead trying to take each game individually while trying to get better for the long run as their team health improves.
The grind is real and continues Friday night at the Fieldhouse.
Pacers vs. Pistons
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -5.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Quenton Jackson, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Pistons: Jaden Ivey, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harrison, Jalen Duren
Injuries
Pacers: Ben Sheppard (oblique) - out, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out, Andrew Nembhard (knee) - out
Pistons: Cade Cunningham (hip) - questionable, Tobias Harris (hip) - questionable, Bobi Klinman (calf) - out