Everything was Upside Down for the Pacers besides the result vs Pistons

INDIANAPOLIS – It was Stranger Things night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday as the Pacers hosted the Pistons. Indiana-based sci-fi has a parallel dimension known as the Upside Down, and references to the alternate reality filled the arena.

There were signs, shirts, decor, and even a Demogorgon moving throughout the building. The theme was fun and became fitting for the basketball game. The on-court nods to the Upside Down started before tipoff. The Pacers (2-14) and Pistons (14-2) had inverted records. As Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press shared, the Pistons suffered their 13th-straight defeat against the Pacers two years ago to the day. On Monday, they were playing for win number 13 in a row.

Many Pacers games of late have followed a similar formula. Start well, but fall behind by the end of the first quarter. The bench can't hold an edge. The opening five keeps things close-ish until some point in the third quarter, but as the top-three players sub out the game gets out of hand. But Pacers-Pistons was played in the Upside Down. The Pacers flipped that script, mostly.

In both of the Pacers last two games entering Monday, their first 20 points came from the combination of Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, and Andrew Nembhard. Against Detroit, Isaiah Jackson snapped that streak and scored after that trio had just eight combined points.

The Pacers bench has been, to use T.J. McConnell's words, inconsistent of late. Entering Monday, the most recent games were on the lower end of that consistency scale. But in the Upside Down, the bench was great. After the starters exited the game without a lead on the scoreboard, which is already somewhat unusual, the second unit came in and tied the game at 30.

That group kept battling, and the score was 43-43 with 9:02 to go in the second quarter. Less than one minute later, both Siakam and Mathurin checked back into the game... and were on the floor for much of the Pistons ensuing 25-6 run. It happened in a snap – less than six minutes in total. Detroit, who holds the best record in the East, was running away with the game.

It was all backwards. The reserves were great, but the typically-reliable starters were poor and disconnected. Nembhard and Mathurin were off on shots all night. There was more balance, yet the team's quality in general was atypical. Usually this season, the Pacers have fallen apart in the third quarter instead of the second.

"They start making a little bit of a run, our offense gets a little unorganized," Siakam said postgame of the team's many conceded runs. "All of a sudden, one mistake, and it just keeps on going. We've got to find a way to stop that."

A few players who haven't made shots this season – Jarace Walker and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl – were accurate from the field. Walker, in particular, was terrific, more on him to come. But this game felt like no other Pacers outing this season. It was perfectly-fitting for a night that was thematically focused on another dimension.

The second half was Upside Down compared to the first half. The Pacers were way, way better than the Pistons. They slowly chipped into the deficit, once again thanks to their bench as well as excellent play from Siakam. They trimmed the Pistons lead from 19 to 10 to five and kept the fans engaged.

Hope remained. The Pacers, down 11 with 4:18 to go, cut the edge to two inside the final minute. They had the ball down by three with mere seconds to go, meaning they'd have a chance to tie the game. The call? The football play everyone can recognize instantly. It created an open three for Mathurin.

It didn't drop. That was one of the only right-side up things that happened on Monday: the Pacers fell in a clutch battle. The final score was 122-117. But in the Upside Down game, the Pacers battled back and had one of their best performances this month.

"Second half was terrific," head coach Rick Carlisle said postgame. "Second half, we played with a lot more presence. The difference was obvious."

While a lot was flipped from a typical game, and some Pacers players were frustrated that the team showed an incredible high and low in the same outing, it was still an encouraging performance for the blue and gold. Since Mathurin returned, they have more balance and have been getting consistently better. It didn't lead to a win in this instance, but it showed that their highest level can hang with the best squads in the NBA.

They'll hope to be more consistent in future, unthemed games. If they clean up their issues allowing big runs, perhaps wins could be coming for the blue and gold.

Some other notes I found important in the Pacers loss to the Pistons below.

Some important shot making from reserves

T.J. McConnell has been up and down since returning from injury when it comes to making shots, but this was an up game from him (8/12, five assists). He was able to get off some of his go-to attempts that have felt unavailable at times this season, and he even got a McConnell stealing an inbounds pass. He looked spry, and I think having two days off leading up to the game played a part in that.

But McConnell at least had a few games where shots have dropped before Monday. More rare was the success of Jarace Walker and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who both finished with season-high scoring numbers.

For Walker, it was a career high point total at 21. He was on fire from deep (5/6, with the miss coming at the final buzzer) and made three baskets inside the arc. All three came in the restricted area – Walker earned praise for his condensed, straight-to-the-cup drives that went through the defense instead of to it.

His success ballooned his three-point percentage this season by nearly four percent. His overall field goal percentage is three percent better than it was before Monday. Walker needed a game like that, and the Pacers will hope he can repeat at least some of it.

Robinson-Earl finished with 10 points, his first outing in double figures this season. It wasn't earth shattering, but he too has been struggling with shot accuracy this season and needed a feel-good night.

"It's always great. It's easy when shots are going in," Robinson-Earl said of seeing a few makes. "So it's always good. Just keep that going for the team."

Having some shots drop from reserve wings would make the Pacers quite a bit more dynamic and versatile. They will, obviously, hope this continues. Particularly for Walker, who has been up and down – with more downs than ups – this season.

So, about Andrew Nembhard's role...

After sometimes matching minutes with Donovan Mitchell last Friday while still producing 32 points and eight assists against the Clavaliers, Nembhard's usage became a topic. He was brilliant. But his role was a big ask of any player, and Carlisle said as much postgame.

"There's a lot on his shoulders. He's having to create too much. I want to get some of his load off of him," the head coach said.

In some ways, it was clear how the Pacers tried to do that against Detroit. McConnell and Nembhard overlapped for 11 minutes on Monday after logging just 18 minutes as a pairing for the entire season entering that game. Ben Sheppard took the ball across halfcourt a few times to open the second half. These were noticeable shifts.

On the other hand, Nembhard was guarded by Ausar Thompson often and had the challenge of attempting to slow Cade Cunningham. Even with tweaks, that's an impossibly huge ask of any one player.

I'm not sure what the Pacers can do about that besides either make more shots, thus forcing their opponent to make defensive changes, or play through someone other than Nembhard. But that's a big ask, too – their offense takes a big dive when he sits. It's on the Pacers to be creative and figure this out, because while it is valuable information and development to see Nembhard handle several responsibilities, it's also not as instructive to see him in the hardest possible reality every night.

It likely played a part in his 4/14 performance against Detroit. The Pacers will try to make things easier on him in future outings that might be more Rightside Up.

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