Deja Vu for the Pacers in Portland as similar losses pile up
The Pacers keep losing in very similar ways.
PORTLAND – The Pacers gave up 130-plus points in a 20-point loss to the Trail Blazers on Sunday night. The last time that happened... was on Wednesday when the Clippers beat the Pacers 130-107.
Before that? You have to go all the way back to... February 26, when the Hornets won 133-109 in Indy. Two days prior, the 76ers beat the Pacers 135-114. There have been similar games in between, too, as deja vu is following the post All-Star break Pacers.
It has been a very rough stretch for the team. They can't get stops and only have had a final margin within 10 twice since the mid-February stoppage. In that time, the Pacers have the NBA's worst defensive rating, and they have been over five points per 100 possessions worse than the league's 25th-ranked defense.
In short – the team has rarely been competitive in the last few weeks. "I feel like the other team's getting whatever they want, so we've got to do better as a team," star forward Pascal Siakam said of his team's defense of late.
Tony East
Since February 18, the Pacers are 0-9 and have been outscored by 142 points in total. That's tied for the fifth-worst scoring margin for the Pacers across any nine-game span in franchise history – and every worse stretch came in early November of the ongoing season.
It's been some of the worst basketball the Pacers have ever produced. Even during a time in which losses are less damaging, the team isn't learning anything that can help them in future seasons or seeing much development. Other poor teams near them in the inverse standings have been more competitive and won a game here and there.
The Pacers have not, and they've struggled to even keep the games within double figures. "We've just got to compete at a better level," head coach Rick Carlisle said after Sunday's loss.
If the Pacers lose to Sacramento on Tuesday by 24 points or more, they will officially be in the worst 10-game stretch in franchise history. That seems unlikely – the Kings and Pacers are tied for the fewest wins in the league. But Sacramento handled the Chicago Bulls on Sunday and have won three of their last 10 games. It's not impossible.
Along the way, the Pacers are hoping to gather information about their team. They've tried many new lineup combinations in the last month, including five-man combinations with multiple point guards or centers. That's certainly been a factor in their losses – the pursuit of knowledge with long-term benefit comes at the expense of short-term success.
"This is an opportunity to look at everything, and we're looking at a lot of different guys, a lot of different combinations. And by the time we're done, we're going to have a significant amount of information collected on our entire team. And that's a plus," Carlisle said Sunday night. But that is taxing in some ways for the team as they keep losing.
"Playing any game, you can get a lot out of it whether you're in a good stretch or in a bad stretch. I think that's something learned over the years being in the G League, being a two-way player," center Jay Huff said. "There's always something to be gained from any game. So it's just a long stretch."
Right now, that all swirls together and creates a lot of deja vu for the Pacers. They keep losing, and in many cases by a significant margin. Their next game in Sacramento is their second-to-last battle against a team near them in the inverse standings this season – that's an easier opponent to beat but a more important team to possibly lose against. As the Pacers navigate a losing streak and a pursuit of knowledge, Tuesday night will be an important outing.
T.J. McConnell and Jarace Walker injuries
In the fourth quarter of Pacers-Blazers, T.J. McConnell exited the game and never re-entered. The team later announced that he had a sore right hamstring and would not return.
McConnell has dealt with hamstring injuries all season. He exited the team's first preseason game with a left hamstring issue that caused him to miss time at the start of the regular season, and the veteran guard has since been listed on the Pacers injury report with issues in his right hamstring. The team has been managing his body all season — there is no point in putting too many miles on McConnell in a down year, especially as he turns 34 this month.
He played for 17:03 in Pacers-Blazers and finished with six points and three assists. I asked Carlisle if there was any concern beyond Sunday when it came to McConnell and his health status. "There's concern. So we'll see," Carlisle said. "And Walker turned his ankle at the end. Look, we're a bit beat up right now. So we'll circle the wagons tomorrow with medical staff and see what's what."
Walker had his ankle on ice in the locker room after the game. He's only missed one game all season and it was due to illness. The status of both players, but particularly Walker as he looks to develop down the stretch of this season, will be monitored closely.
The return of the Obi Toppin and Pascal Siakam frontcourt
The Pacers turned to a familiar frontcourt combination against the Blazers as Obi Toppin and Pascal Siakam manned the four and five positions. They have years of experience playing together, including in key playoff series, but that duo hasn't hit the court together without a center much this season — just 51 minutes in total.
While Toppin is still limited in how much he can actually play at this point in the season, seeing him in as many situations as possible is valuable, especially with new players to put next to him. He and Siakam were the four-five combo in a lineup that also featured Kobe Brown on Sunday night, for example.
I missed that Toppin and Siakam held the frontcourt spots without a center during both games in Los Angeles, so my question to Rick Carlisle about the pairing's return was poor. But a majority of their playing time together since the All-Star break (14 minutes in total) came on Sunday.
As Carlisle said above: "This is an opportunity to look at everything, and we're looking at a lot of different guys, a lot of different combinations." They've seen Siakam plus Toppin before, but not with some of their current teammates, combinations, and challenges. That's important down the stretch.
Thank you for reading and following along as I hit the West coast. I'm heading home and won't be at Pacers-Kings, but will still have stories after each Pacers game this season. Sign up to not miss any of them.
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