At the break, Pacers are a hard team to predict
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — We usually have a good grasp of a team by the time the All-Star Break rolls around. That is not the case this season for the Indiana Pacers, (or several other Eastern Conference teams for that matter.) After Thursday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Pacers limp into the break having lost five of their last six games, and have an overall record of 16-19.
You can’t be absolutely sure this is a bad team- Pacers could be a MUCH different squad with one or two of their starters back in action.
You also can’t be absolutely sure this will be a good team- We don’t know when those guys will return, how much they’ll produce right away, and if that will fix the other issues plaguing this team.
“I think we’re a lot better team than our record shows,” said Pacers All-Star Domantas Sabonis. “The break will help us get refreshed. The next half of the schedule is really strong and we’re going to have to be mentally fresh and ready to go.”
Head Coach Nate Bjorkgren is remaining optimistic: “This team plays hard, and they care about each other,” he said. “We’ll use the break to spend time with family, get refreshed, watch a lot of film, and come back ready to go. There’s a lot of basketball to be played.”
The Pacers are still just a few games out of the No. 4-seed in the bunched-up Eastern Conference. But they’re also only a few games ahead of being in 12th. And the schedule to start the 2nd half is brutal. The rest will help. Getting Caris LeVert back in the near future will help even more. But if the Pacers have a really bad stretch to start the 2nd half, will any of that matter?
By the Numbers:
The Pacers have been middle-of-the pack on offense. They’re 14th in points per game, and 11th in field-goal percentage. They’re 6th in the NBA in assists, which is one of the few positives so far this season. For all the talk about shooting more 3’s and playing at a higher pace- Indy is just 20th in 3-point attempts (still much more than last year), and they’re 13th in the NBA in Pace.
Rebounding has been a major issue: The Pacers are 29th in the NBA in total rebounds, and 26th in Rebound percentage.
The real confusion has come on the defensive end. Once again, things would look differently with Oladipo/LeVert, and Warren in the mix. But this is still largely the same roster that excelled on the defensive end in previous years. The Pacers are still a respectable 13th in the NBA in Defensive Rating, but they’ve had long stretches of really poor defense which has clearly been a factor in totaling 19 early losses. Was Dan Burke really THAT important? Are the Pacers still just adjusting to a new scheme which will take time? Or does Nate Bjorkgren need to go back to the drawing board and get his team playing more like previous seasons on that end of the floor?
It’s too early to write this team off. It’s too early for all that “tank” talk. This could still end up being a very positive season. It could also be a rough year, and the narrative could definitely change in a few weeks. For now, the Pacers will enjoy the time off, which is more time for LeVert and Warren to heal as well. And they’ll try to survive a brutal schedule upon their return to give themselves a fighting chance in the 2nd half.
