‘It’s gotta matter’: Siakam speaks up as Pacers slide continues; Micah Potter signed
The 3-time All-Star opens up about the weight of the losses and the urgency to turn it around. Plus, three more transactions, highlighted by the call-up of Micah Potter from the G League.
Good afternoon. I’m back downtown after spending a few days with family. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and holiday with loved ones.
The Pacers’ Christmas list was simple: Win. Because it’s been a while.
They won back-to-back games on Dec. 5 and 8, but have since lost six in a row. It’s been nearly three weeks since their last victory — as head coach Rick Carlisle remains one win shy of No. 1,000 — and, as Pascal Siakam explains below, it’s wearing on them.
How could it not?
The Pacers are now 30 games into the regular season with just six wins to show for it. That isn’t normal — not here, at least.
And it’s exactly why the talk of tanking misses the point. Yes, losing can improve draft position, but that’s about it.
Players don’t care about a hypothetical draft pick who could eventually take their spot. Coaches and executives know their jobs are scrutinized when wins aren’t there. And on the business side, organizations feel the impact at the gate and beyond.
Most of all — and too often forgotten — losing cannot be allowed to take root. The moment it’s tolerated and becomes part of the culture, it becomes a far more costly loss than any single game.
Just look down the street at the Colts, who remain stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity. They haven’t won an AFC South title since 2014, have played in just three playoff games since, and won only one. More than a decade later, they’re staring at a fifth straight season watching the playoffs from home.
I regularly think about what Carlisle told me about culture when he returned — that it’s never set, but rather something you’re fighting and working for every single day.
“To have a championship culture, a lot of it is swimming upstream because what you’re saying is you want guys to be really competitive and want to play a lot of minutes, but at the same time encourage teammates that they’re competing with for minutes,” he said. “It takes a special group. As an organization, we’re trying to find special people. As a coaching staff, we try to keep the messaging consistent every single day.”
The Bucks handled the Pacers by 17 points Tuesday in their final game before Christmas. There wasn’t much to be pleased about.
Afterward, Carlisle touched on scoring droughts, stagnant offense, and defensive slippage.
“It’s game to game and we’re trying to win games and there are challenges,” he said. “And so each game’s an individual entity and a new challenge.”
After two days off, the Pacers’ next challenge comes against the Boston Celtics — even without Jayson Tatum, who suffered a torn Achilles one month before Tyrese Haliburton last postseason.
Boston (18-11) has been one of the East’s early surprises, sitting third and winning eight of its last 10 — including Monday’s victory over Indiana at TD Garden.
Siakam’s Candid Assessment
Pascal Siakam spoke from the heart.
Something’s gotta give.
He’s had enough.
Siakam spoke for nine minutes Tuesday in the Bob Collins–Wayne Fusion Media Interview Room after another double-digit loss, a 111-94 defeat to Milwaukee. The Pacers (6-24) have dropped six straight and rank 29th in the league — ahead of only Washington.
“We just didn’t play with no pace, no determination,” he’s aid. “It was just jacking shots sometimes and play with no force. Yeah, we just didn’t have that. I mean, it’s hard to evaluate the offense when it just didn’t look like we tried hard enough.
“Sometimes it doesn’t look like we have any pace or any pep to anything that we’re doing, it just looks slow, there’s no energy. It’s not fun to be around.”
This season has tested him.
He’s doing all he can, but it hasn’t been easy or fun.
