83 points in 2025? Pacers thumped by Warriors, but health may be coming
The Pacers are 1-9 and resting players, but health may be coming.
MY COUCH, Ind. – For the first 31 minutes of Pacers-Warriors on Sunday night, it felt like the Pacers were trending toward another Chase Center classic. They entered the day 6-0 in that building and had played spoiler to many great Golden State teams. With 4:06 on the clock in the third quarter, it was 62-61 Pacers. Just over 16 minutes stood between the Pacers and a second win this season.
Instead, the Warriors won the game... by 31 points. From that moment until the final buzzer, Golden State dominated with a score margin of 53-21. 21 points in 16 minutes is ugly. Allowing 53 is arguably worse.
It was a dreadful close to a game that started somewhat promising for the Pacers. For the first 30-ish minutes, the Pacers had some impressive defensive stretches. Their second unit was guarding particularly well, with a Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Cody Martin, and Tony Bradley frontcourt causing trouble. Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, and Monte Morris were just efficient enough to keep the game close.
"I think our guys are grinding. We kept them to 25 and under in both quarters," Assistant coach Lloyd Pierce said at halftime during an interview on the Fanduel Sports Indiana broadcast of the game. It was 48-41 Warriors at that point, and Pierce believed the possession battle would be key in the second half.
In some ways, it was. Just not in favor of the Pacers. Across the third and fourth quarters, visiting Indiana had 11 turnovers, Golden State had just four. The rebounding battle was even at 27-27. The Warriors, despite trailing in the third quarter, ran away with the game.
So the possession battle wasn't pretty... but neither was the Pacers efficiency. They shot 34% from the field in both halves, including 4/18 from long range in the first half. Stop me if you've heard this one this season: the Pacers couldn't make shots, and it was the difference.
"We've got to create confusion with movement," Pierce said.
With nine players sidelined and just 11 available total, it wasn't all that surprising to see the Pacers struggle. Pascal Siakam sat out for the first time this season (keep reading for more on that), as did Aaron Nesmith. It was the Pacers third back-to-back this season. Their lack of punch popped up the night before in Denver.
But... It was also their worst game in terms of shooting accuracy since April 19, 2021. Their offensive rating is now dead last in the NBA. Even with several important pieces missing, this is shocking to see from a team that could score at will the last few seasons and could even fill up the net at times without Tyrese Haliburton.
The final score was 114-83. 83 is the Pacers' fewest points in a game this campaign, and I'll make a prediction now: I bet it stays that way through the end of the regular season. Sunday night was the Pacers fourth game total in the 2020s scoring 83 points or less. They haven't won a game scoring that few points since 2014.
So, I make the same point I keep making: Yes, it's clear that health is playing a major role in the Pacers last-place offense. But the available talent can, and should, be better. They have all been more effective in the past. Confidence, I suspect, is an issue. Roles and general placement in the pecking order have changed for everyone. As players return, things will look better – this team had little trouble scoring in the preseason (who cares, it's just preseason, but still!).
Until that happens, losses may keep coming for the now 1-9 Pacers. But, on the bright side, they don't have another back-to-back until the end of November, and their schedule eases up a ton for the next few weeks. A more fair assessment of what this team can be will be formed by the time the In-Season Tournament "break" comes after the Pacers host the Sacramento Kings on December 8. In the meantime, there were other key personnel notes from Pacers-Warriors (and the day that followed).
Pascal Siakam - Out (rest)
Yes, that is a real injury designation from the Pacers 10th game of the season. Siakam sat, and he had to.
I have been asked by several fans, and twice on different radio hits, about Siakam's minutes this season. Are they too high? My answer every time: yes. He's 11th in the NBA in minutes per game and turns 32 this season on a team with a limited ceiling. Of the course the Pacers should be cautious with his workload.
Yet they've played so many close games, in large part because Siakam has been so good, and he's going to be on the floor in crunch time as the team's best player. He hit massive shots down the stretch in the team's only win this season (ironically, given this story, against the Warriors). He's critical to the team's success.
And then, he got a night off as the team hit their third back-to-back in 10 games. "Rick Carlisle does a really good job with managing minutes to keep [Pacers players] fresh for the postseason," Siakam's agent said in 2024, a quote that I have never forgotten and used to write a story last season.
Naturally, as the Pacers have the NBA's fewest wins, questions followed the decision to rest Siakam... as did gifs of a certain armoured war vehicle. Sigh. My take: the Pacers are just bad and not tanking (right now), but sitting Siakam was certainly a long-term based decision as opposed to short-term, get-wins-now idea. They could have beaten a Steph Curry-less Golden State with Siakam – they already did this season. But that wasn't the Pacers priority on Sunday night. And a healthier, fresh Siakam could actually net them more wins in the short term after a night off.
But it was still a noteworthy decision in a so-far losing season. I thought these points from Caitlin Cooper were well-put and this post from Historical Marker Ahead was a succinct way to sum up how I feel about Siakam's night of rest.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's 10-day ends
Sunday was the final game day of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's 10-day hardship contract with the Pacers. The contract ran through the 10th of the month, so he is now a free agent again.
He was a fitting fill in for the Pacers in that he looked like a solid player in many ways but couldn't score at all. His rebounding rocked as he averaged nearly seven per game, his defense was fine, he could put the ball on the floor and move it without many turnovers. Overall, solid stuff. But he shot 32.3% and made 25% of his threes.
Again, people keep pointing to injuries as a reason for the Pacers struggles. Robinson-Earl shot much better than those numbers for a 21-win Pelicans team last season with poor shot creators. The Pacers should, and will, shoot better this season. Anyways...
Tony East
Robinson-Earl hits free agency now. I've gotten a few questions about the blue and gold keeping him. We'll see, but I don't presently think they can without a waiver (barring another hardship being granted). He isn't two-way contract eligible, so it would have to be a standard contract player.
As for the Pacers potentially being eligible for yet another hardship 10-day contract, it's unclear. With one piece of upcoming news you're about to read, I don't know if they are currently eligible for one. Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin, and Kam Jones have missed three-plus games and may not return for two more weeks. Is Bennedict Mathurin close to a return? Quenton Jackson doesn't count toward hardship eligibility on a two-way deal. Johnny Furphy just missed his third-straight game, but his timeline also isn't known.
Should the Pacers get another hardship exception (they could use it on someone besides Robinson-Earl, too), it would mean that two of Mathurin, Jones, and Furphy project to be out for two more weeks. Their timelines aren't clear enough (to me, at least) to know for sure, but Mathurin is progressing well. I wrote about all the hardship details here.
T.J. McConnell upgraded to questionable
T.J. McConnell, who has not played this season after suffering a strained left hamstring in the Pacers preseason opener, has been upgraded to questionable for Pacers-Jazz on Tuesday. It's been one month and four days since his injury.
The veteran guard is crucial to Indiana's success on the second unit and even in a limited capacity will provide a boost to the team with his pace, drives, and passing. You've seen him play and know what he can do.
Perhaps more importantly, the Pacers might finally be able to play multiple point guards at once for extended stretches. They haven't had McConnell and Nembhard available in the same game at all this season, and Morris plus Nembhard combined for a total of eight overlapping minutes in Sunday's game against the Warriors. Carlisle loves those alignments and might finally have the depth to use them. More to come on that after Pacers-Jazz.
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