It is no secret how bad the Indiana Pacers have been to start the season. Through 14 games, Indiana has gone 6-8, which barely puts them in the playoff picture as the eighth seed. Even worse, their habit of losing games to inferior teams has not only lingered but gotten worse from last season, as evidenced by their most recent loss to the Toronto Raptors. Despite being banged up by injuries to Ben Sheppard and Myles Turner, as well as their already-injured players (Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Isaiah Jackson, and James Wiseman), the Pacers were still favored over a 2-12 Raptors team missing Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Bruce Brown, and Kelly Olynyk, among others. Unfortunately, Indiana couldn’t overcome their lack of centers or perimeter defenders, as evidenced by their ‘holding’ Toronto to 58% from the field and 48% from deep and losing by double digits to snap the Raptors’ seven-game losing streak.
Truthfully, there isn’t one concrete reason why the Pacers have been bad this season; instead, it’s a combination of reasons. From Tyrese Haliburton’s possible back injury woes and inconsistent play to poor rotations to role players getting hot without fail against Indiana, it’s been pretty bad for the blue and gold to start the year. However, perhaps the biggest issue is one that has returned to the forefront after being relatively muted last season: injuries.
For years, the Pacers have had many a season ruined due to injuries. In fact, the downfall of two of the last three Pacers franchise players has come due to injury, as Paul George’s leg injury in the 2014 offseason caused a regular Eastern Conference Finals team’s foundation to collapse and while he did eventually to his All-NBA level of play, he grew frustrated with the franchise and was traded. The man George was traded for, Victor Oladipo, looked to be his successor for years to come in his magical first season in Indiana and then he sufferred a quad injury in January 2019, which halted his star potential and eventually his run in the NBA as he is currently out of the league.
The 2023-24 season seemed to be a change of pace, as it was Indiana’s first majorly healthy season in a while. Despite Tyrese Haliburton missing 13 games, primarily due to his hamstring injury in January, the majority of Pacers were healthy, and it showed, as Indiana played with a level of chemistry and pace fans hadn’t seen before. After ongoing minor injury issues in seasons past, Myles Turner played 77 games, the most of any season except for his sophomore year, and Pascal Siakam played all 41 games after getting dealt to Indiana. The playoffs were another indication of how health leads to chemistry, as the Pacers entered every playoff game with the same starting lineup, except for the final two games. This led to an Eastern Conference Finals run and high hopes for the following season, as with Bennedict Mathurin returning from his labrum tear, Indiana seemed to have a healthy slate for the 2024-25 season, provided Tyrese Haliburton returned to full form.
So far, that has not happened. As soon as the 2024-25 regular season started, Indiana’s injury woes returned, as third-string center James Wiseman suffered an Achilles tear on opening night quickly ending his season. The Pacers could survive losing their third center, as Indiana had Isaiah Jackson to back up Myles Turner and seemed ready to weather the storm. Sure enough, this was the case for the next four games, as Indiana rolled out the same lineup for five of the season’s first six games. The one game with a different lineup came on October 30, where they defeated the Boston Celtics in a Conference Finals rematch despite Myles Turner sitting out. However, cracks began to show in Indiana’s rotation as Isaiah Jackson fouled out in the fourth quarter, and the Pacers gave up a monster Boston run and had to win in overtime after leading by over 20 points at points in the game because they had nobody to play the center position outside of Jackson. In the first sign of another nagging issue, Andrew Nembhard only played the first five minutes of the Boston game despite starting as a sore knee issue popped up just before tip-off. He would miss the following game against New Orleans.
Against the Pelicans is where things really took a turn for the worst. Despite facing one of the most banged-up teams in the league, with injuries to CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, and Dejounte Murray, the Pacers seemed determined to match their injury list, as two Pacers suffered injuries in this game, both being key members of the rotation. The first injury came early in the second quarter when Aaron Nesmith suffered a nasty left ankle sprain, which has left him wearing a boot since and has ruled him out until sometime in December. To cap off the loss to the shorthanded Pelicans, Indiana lost their only backup center, Isaiah Jackson, to a torn right Achilles, making it the first time in NBA history that two players on the same team have had Achilles injuries at the same time—let alone suffering the same fate within just a few games of each other.
This left Indiana’s roster paper-thin, but they found some continuity in the following two games when Andrew Nembhard returned. Unfortunately, Nembhard’s return only lasted for two games. After Indiana’s victory over the Orlando Magic on November 6, he was ruled out for at least two weeks with a left knee patellofemoral inflammation, cutting down Indiana’s dwindling depth in the frontcourt and backcourt, as 2-way contract players like guard Quenton Jackson and rookie forward Enrique Freeman plus rookie Johnny Furphy were inserted into the rotation.
Thankfully, Indiana’s rotation stayed somewhat consistent for the next five games, as their starting lineup did not change. Granted, it was their fifth starting lineup after only nine games, but it was nice to have some continuity for once. Unfortunately, they took two more blows following Sunday’s victory over the Miami Heat, as Ben Sheppard went down with a left oblique strain, and Myles Turner was ruled out of the next matchup against Toronto with a sore right calf.
With four of Indiana’s best defenders gone due to injury, they would have to get creative against the Raptors, who also missed Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Bruce Brown, and Kelly Olynyk. Of course, Indiana could always out-shoot the Raptors, but that would be wishful thinking with Tyrese Haliburton’s slump in full effect. With Turner out, the Pacers resorted to using 6’7” Enrique Freeman in the starting center slot, who has an awesome story about walking on at Akron University and then getting drafted in the second round but is not ready for these NBA minutes especially as an undersized center.
Predictably, the Pacers got destroyed in Toronto by Jakob Poeltl dropped 30 points and 15 rebounds on their heads, accompanied by RJ Barrett, who scored 39 points with nine rebounds. While Toronto did not have many offensive weapons, the ones they had treated Indiana’s short-handed defense like a hydrogen bomb would treat a coughing baby, as the Raptors finished the night shooting 59% from the field and 48% from deep to earn only their third win of the season and drop their record to 6-8.
Currently, Turner and Sheppard’s status is questionable for Wednesday’s game against Houston—and Johnny Furphy has also been added to the lengthy injury report as questionable after leaving the Raptors game with a hand injury. There is some optimism that Turner will play and Sheppard is also a possibility according to reports. Indiana has finally signed a backup center to alleviate Myles Turner’s heavy minute load and prevent Obi Toppin and Pascal Siakam from playing a position above their comfort zone, as 7-foot-2 Moses Brown is set to sign with the team on Wednesday morning, giving them an extra presence down low and a rebounding threat, as he has averaged 19 points and 14 rebounds in the G-League this year. He’s not exactly the backup center Indiana envisioned when the season started, but he’s a very tall human for NBA standards which the Pacers currently lack outside of Turner.
Of course, ignoring Tyrese Haliburton’s struggles would be foolish. Haliburton’s 3-point percentage is the lowest in the league among players who have taken at least 100 attempts at 28.8%. He can be seen grimacing on the sidelines at times wearing a device intended to help with his back problems. Per Basketball Reference with a hat-tip to Caitlin Cooper, Haliburton’s home/road splits are eye opening.
In 6 home games, Haliburton has averaged 20.8 points, 8.8 assists on 46.2/39.2/79.2 shooting splits.
In 8 road games, Haliburton has averaged 12.6 points, 8.3 assists on 31.5/20.0/84.0 shooting splits.
It seems logical that perhaps plane travel is causing extra stiffness in his back but Haliburton has not made this an excuse for his inconsistent play.
With Indiana already exhausting six starting lineups through 14 games and one of their only consistent starters exhibiting inconsistent play, the formula for a successful season is not being followed, and losses are stacking up. Indiana’s dynamic offense in the 2023-24 season and playoffs came from many factors, chief among them being their chemistry, even after the Pascal Siakam trade. However, building chemistry is hard when your rotation changes after every game. Perhaps all it will take is renewed health for the team, the chemistry to return, the offensive to improve, and the wins to stack up again. Is it time for Tyrese Haliburton to rest up for a few games and see if that alleviates some of his issues? That would be very difficult at the moment, considering Indiana only has one backup point guard to alleviate him in TJ McConnell. Before a trade, offensive improvements, or any slump ends, the first thing Pacers fans need to hope for is health, as the rigors of the NBA season have been very unkind to them, and November isn’t even over.
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