Pacers searching for a win amid more injuries and inconsistency
Indiana dropped to 6-23 as Isaiah Jackson joins the injury list, more on Tony Bradley's injury, Kam Jones earns the game ball, Furphy impresses, and Myles Turner returns.
Good afternoon from downtown Indianapolis. I’m back in town after four days in Orlando for the G League Winter Showcase. I had many good conversations, along with a handful of interviews that you’ll read soon.
In the meantime, the Pacers have been unable to replicate the post-Cup magic they found last season. They’re on their third losing streak of five games or more.
The crisp defense that had them ranked in the top five for a few weeks is gone. Poor starts, extreme drop-offs when the bench unit enters, and inconsistency have been the biggest frustrations — aside from injuries, of course.
Just about every game, the Pacers give up a major run while struggling to score for a stretch of about five minutes. In Boston on Monday, it was a 19-5 run in the middle of the third quarter.
Still, the Pacers led 82-74 (and by as many as 20 points) entering the fourth, but the Celtics opened with a 13-4 burst and never trailed again in a 103-85 win.
That dropped Indiana to 6-23 on the season, ahead of only the Washington Wizards (5-22), a team that had blown them out just a week prior.
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The Pacers had Sunday to rest, get treatment, and prepare for a back-to-back that began with Boston. They responded well initially, making eight of their first nine 3-pointers — matching the total they attempted in 42 shots against New Orleans in a 128-109 loss — and assisted on each of their first nine field goals.
But things went from encouraging to baffling quickly. The Pacers missed 19 of 20 3-point attempts in the second half, including all eight in the fourth.
“We needed to keep attacking and we didn’t do it enough,” Carlisle said.
The ball stuck, there wasn’t enough movement, and the game flipped when the Celtics went to an all-bench lineup, awakening the crowd TD crowd. Boston capitalized in the final period. They won 50/50 balls and scored 15 second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Pacers’ fourth quarter was their worst of the season: 13 points on 4-of-18 shooting, outscored by 16 points.
Among the frequent changes has been the starting lineup, with 17 different groupings in the first 29 games.
“We can do better there,” Carlisle said after the loss in New Orleans. “A lot of times in this world, small adjustments can make a significant difference — and I got to see what those might be.”
They’re still searching for answers, consistency, and, most importantly, good health.
Carlisle also sits on 999 career wins; Tuesday’s home game against Milwaukee offers a last chance to reach 1,000 before Christmas.
Isaiah Jackson Lands On Injury Report
Another game, another new player to join the long injury report.
Center Isaiah Jackson became the 14th player to appear on the list — and now miss a game. With 4:33 left in the first quarter, just minutes after checking in, Jackson was struck in the head three times by Neemias Queta.
