Pacers search for winning answers continues
The Pacers dumped another loss on the road in Houston when they ran out of options against the Rockets.
The Pacers are turning this November into the longest month in NBA history. Spurts of good play at best, no juice and too many losses…just 15 games into the regular season after fading away in the second half of a 130-113 loss to the Rockets on Wednesday night.
Oof.
Much of that has to do with the team’s leader and primary energy source, in Tyrese Haliburton, continuing to trend in a negative direction. Neither he nor the injury report claim he’s hurting although it doesn’t require 20/20 vision for the eye test to wonder otherwise. Go pull up some clips of Haliburton from the Pacers wins over Boston and Milwaukee in early December last season. The difference is stark.
Haliburton scored 4 points against the Rockets, missing all but one of his seven shots in the game and worse, appearing to avoid creating shot in the paint as if he was tired of missing. As mentioned after the loss in Toronto, Haliburton continues to play heavy minutes which makes sense considering the players that have been on the injury list.
While it may be admirable for Haliburton to take on the heavy load while waiting for Nembhard, Nesmith and now Sheppard to return, he can’t possibly 100 percent when comparing the way he’s moving, let alone playing to last year at this time. The situation is giving off Anthony Richardson vibes.
The Colts QB was benched after a game in which he ‘tapped’ out as tired despite it appearing he had tweaked his hip. With the scrutiny on AR’s injury history, informed folks believe he didn’t want to appear injured and went with being tired instead. With Haliburton’s injury history mounting, can understand that he doesn’t want to entertain the topic despite the braces, pads and seat cushions he leans on when off the floor.
If that’s the case, the team and Tyrese need to fake an ankle twist and let him be helped off the floor to take some time off. At this point, what ever physical ailments are slowing him down seem to have impacted his mental approach to the game and the confidence he has in his shot. Tony East broke down the Tyrese issues in fantastic fashion on the Thursday episode of Locked on Pacers, letting us know that Haliburton’s shooting numbers for the volume of shots he’s taking are historically low or, actually the lowest in history. Lawdy.
I’m not buying the home and away splits explaining anything either. The Pacers have only played six home games and yes, his overall production is better but in one of those six games he had 35 points and 14 assists against the Knicks. He also had 0 points and 0 sots made against the Knicks on the road. The meh numbers in the middle after removing the best and worst test scores are not those of All-Pro Tyrese regardless of where he’s playing.
So, the Pacers are 6-9 and facing the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday night. A Bucks team that is 3-1 in their last four and will always want to punish the Pacers. But in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers have plenty of time to salvage the season as their guard health improves. Next week, the Pacers begin a stretch starting with four consecutive home games that could alter the season. An 8-4 stretch in the East puts any team in the mix for a playoff spot. But if the current malaise continues, it will be real tough to recover.
This feels like rock bottom for the Haliburton situation with anyone following the team calling out his play as a primary source of the team’s struggles. So, surely he’ll light it up in Milwaukee, right? Seems to be how the Pacers usually roll. We can only hope this time.
A couple of other thoughts from Houston
Quenton Jackson started for the Pacers and made his presence felt immediately. He was like the cartoon Tasmanian Devil out there, scoring the first five points, while also picking up a foul of aggression trying to work over a screen and firing a couple of off target shots. The energy and effort were much appreciated though and he finished the game quite well with 24 points.
The juice from Jackson seems to perk up Bennedict Mathurin early, but the energy boost didn’t sustain. Mathurin had eight points but reverted back his bad habit of not sprinting the floor all the time, a Carlisle pet peeve for both Mathurin and Jarace Walker. Jarace was sick prior to the game and probably should’ve sat this one out. His slopping passes and way off target three-point shots seemed to indicate he wasn’t 100 percent, ready to play through whatever was ailing him.
On to Milwaukee.
Pacers vs. Bucks
Where: Fiserve Forum, Milwaukee, WI
When: Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Quenton Jackson, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Bucks: Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson, Taurean Prince, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
Injuries
Pacers: Ben Sheppard (oblique) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out, Andrew Nembhard (knee) - out
Bucks: Khris Middleton (ankle) - out, Ryan Rollins (shoulder) - out
Carlisle getting pissy that Mathurin or Walker are not sprinting is quite low on the problem list. It’s an 82 game season. Expecting players to sprint all game is silly. Carlisle’s coaching and Haliburton’s historically crappy play are the reasons why the Pacers are struggling. The team seems to be tuning Carlisle out.