NotW: Only 54% of the Pacers possessions are ending in “great shots.” Even when Tyrese Haliburton was playing earlier this season, the Pacers were creating fewer high quality looks than they once did.

Through their first six games of the year, just over half of the Pacers’ shots (54%) have either been wide-open jump shots or were taken at the rim—my personal definition for what counts as a “great shot” in today’s NBA and a statistic I have tracked for years.

This 54% figure is roughly in line with league average and far below the Pacers’ exceptional shot quality from their two conference finals runs, when they were one of the best teams in the league at generating high-quality looks. 

Four seasons ago, the Pacers ranked first in the NBA in the percentage of their team’s shots that were either wide open jump shots or else within five feet of the basket. Three years ago, they ranked third. Without Tyrese Haliburton and plagued by injuries, that fell to 12th last season. This year, they rank 14th.  

Injuries and a rotating cast of role players have played the most significant roles in the decline of the Pacers shot quality since their two conference finals runs. But Haliburton’s first week back this season did not break the trend. In the four games he played, 56% of Indiana’s shots were “great” shots—only slightly better than their mark last season in his absence. Without him in the lineup, the quality of the team’s looks declined further still: Just 51% of the Pacers’ shots against Philadelphia and Miami were “great” looks by the definition used here. 

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Number of the Week will be a recurring series by Kyle Taylor where he highlights one recent trend that caught his eye. 

Note: Data through Pacers first six games of the year (ending 10/31/26). All data from NBA stats.

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