Pacers look to get better at home
The Pacers return to the comforts of home and a friendly schedule over Thanksgiving week after the road was harshly unkind.
As three-game road trips go, the Pacers 0-3 effort last week, which mercifully with a 129-117 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday, couldn’t have gone much worse.
They were consistent in all the wrong ways, giving up 130 points in losing to Toronto and Houston before ‘only’ giving up 129 to the Bucks. Tyrese Haliburton continued to struggle as the Pacers dug an early hole in Milwaukee before showing some signs of life by making a trio of threes in the second half.
Haliburton wasn’t impressed nor hopeful with that brief flourish of success. In fact, he was at a loss for words following the game in Milwaukee. It is hard to tell if a body part or two is hurting for Haliburton, which it appears is the case, but it is easy to see he is in pain emotionally as he struggle to fight through the defensive focus on his game to find a rhythm to do what he knows he can do.
Haliburton’s struggles mirror that of the full team. They simply have to be better.
Better defensively.
Better offensively.
Better at taking care of the ball.
Better at rebounding.
Better health would help too.
Oh, and again, Haliburton has to be better.
With the current injuries which still have three key guards out, the Pacers will not be able to reach great and even good is a stretch since they are so inconsistent with several young players in the rotation. But there’s no doubt they can be better.
At 6-10 the Pacers are 12th (lottery land) in the Eastern Conference. Fortunately, the East is filled with middling records, so after losing their last three games and five of the last six, the Pacers could quickly turn things around with the friendly schedule they have over the next 12 games before the road beckons again in December.
That starts on Sunday evening with the 2-12 Washington Wizards at the Fieldhouse. The banged up Pelicans are in town on Monday, followed Portland on Wednesday and Detroit on Friday, two young teams that present problems, but at the Fieldhouse should still have the Pacers as favorites.
Stacking a few win as the injured players start to return (and avoiding other injuries) can turn this thing around in a hurry. This week at home is primed for the Pacers to build some positive momentum to get back in the mix both in the standings and emotionally as a team as their health gradually improves. Opening the week as double-digit favorites against the Wizards should be a good place to start.
But they have to be better to get better regardless of where they are playing.
Pacers vs. Wizards
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, 5:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -11.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Quenton Jackson, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Wizards: Malcolm Brogdon, Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Sarr
Injuries
Pacers: Ben Sheppard (oblique) - out, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out, Andrew Nembhard (knee) - out
Wizards: Jordan Poole (hip) - questionable, Saddiq Bey (knee) - out, Tristan Vukcevic (knee) - out
Great write-up, Tom. Indy has to be better at closing quarters. Allowing the Bucks to go on a 10-0 run (?) in tue final minute of the first half was the game. Haliburton must improve or the offense must change to de-emphasize him. This is what Carlisle gets paid to fix.