Pacers 'petty' loss to Magic was better, fiery, and full of questions
The Pacers lost, again. This time, though, they were called out for petty things.
INDIANAPOLIS – Petty nonsense, eh?
That's what Rick Carlisle described as a concern for his team after the Pacers lost again – the 10th defeat in a row – to the Orlando Magic on New Year's Eve. It feels like years since I've written about the Pacers, but hosting friends, then IU Football, got in the way.
Orlando couldn't buy a three all night and scored just 18 points in the fourth quarter. Yet they actually outscored the Pacers in that period on Wednesday 18-15, and that was enough for the visiting group to hang on for a two-point win. After averaging over 30 points in a quarter for three-straight frames, I thought the fourth quarter offense disappearing was the story of the game, and I wanted Carlisle's opinion on why it happened.
Question, from me: "Rick just 15 fourth quarter points after a productive offensive game to that point. Did you see something change process wise offensively? Did shots not go in? What, to you, flipped in that period?"
Carlisle: "The real question should be, 'why did we give up 68 points in the first half and only 44 in the second half?'. And that's because in the second half, we played like a together team that was supporting each other and not like strangers. That's how this has got to be. We're having too much petty nonsense going on during games that needs to go away."
I followed up and asked what specifics he could provide about petty nonsense, and Carlisle (expectedly) would not divulge them. But later, when I asked about the defensive improvement he noted in the second half, he perhaps provided a window into that question anyway.
"We were tied together. We were concerned with the play that was happening right now and the play that was going to be immediately happening next, and not whether or not we were touching the ball or getting a shot or not getting a shot," he began. "That kind of stuff. It's not what this organization is about, it's not what this team is about, it's not what this franchise is about... everything from little distractions with officials to everything else, that's got to go away. It's pretty clear our margins for error are non-existent. We get distracted by unnecessary things that are unrelated to the urgency required in NBA basketball to move from event to event."
Tony East
Carlisle felt it was an issue in the first half of this game and in other games this season. He certainly felt the need to call it out. He changed his opening lineup at halftime (more to come on that) and took out Johnny Furphy plus Jay Huff out of that unit. He swapped defensive assignments late in the game (perhaps related to foul trouble). Carlisle called a timeout with clear anger toward a defensive rep from Bennedict Mathurin with about seven minutes to go in the third quarter. Pascal Siakam was laughing, and pointing, at an official twice during Pacers-Magic.
A lot happened. It would be irresponsible of me to guess what is or isn't petty nonsense, especially after Carlisle noted it has happened in other games, too. But it isn't a good thing in any way, shape, or form, and it became the theme after the Pacers 112-110 loss to Orlando.
Aaron Nesmith was next to the postgame podium after Carlisle. I asked him if he felt any of the petty nonsense. "There may have been a little petty nonsense, but I think it all comes from a good place. I think our competitive spirit in this game was pretty high. Sometimes, that bleeds over into disagreeing on calls or guys' help. I think we can take some positives from that. Guys are tired of losing. We want to hold each other accountable to a higher standard again. We can do nothing but grow."
After him was Andrew Nembhard. Same question. "We're losing, so guys are naturally going to get competitive. We want to win the game, we're going to bicker at each other a little bit. At the end of the day, it's going to come from a place of trying to win the game," he said. "I think it showed in the second half, we just kind of came together, got more connected."
A head coach should be calling out and looking to eradicate behaviors that are deemed harmful. If Carlisle believes that an attitude shift and a lack of petty nonsense guided the Pacers defensive improvement in the second half, that's telling. He will assuredly do what he can as a coach to make that hold in future games. But it is, of course, noteworthy that after the Pacers closest game in 13 days, the head coach felt like it was the right time to share these thoughts.
The Pacers blew a lead and scored just 15 fourth quarter points, as noted above. The primary answer for that was just missed shots, according to Pacers players. They liked the looks and process, mostly. The final two plays – a Paolo Banchero basket followed by a deep missed three from Nesmith – were tough. The Pacers final play was blown up, then Nesmith thought there was less time on the clock than the actual number when he bombed a 30-plus foot shot in an attempt to win the game. It didn't drop.
There was a lot to chat about after the Pacers lost their 10th game in a row. Yet the focus was petty things unclear to someone on the outside. The Pacers feel, especially after falling apart on offense, that they must clean it up.
Welcome back Ben Sheppard
Ben Sheppard returned to action after four weeks on the sideline due to a calf injury. He wore a sleeve on his left calf during the game for the first time ever and was testing it out with some defensive slides pregame.
Sheppard certainly showed no signs of rust. His entire first-half stint was 8:27, and the third-year guard finished with 12 points on 4/4 shooting, including two threes and two rim attacks. He looked comfortable, and seeing some shots go in had to feel great.
He did not score in the second half. After 18:37 of play, Sheppard finished with 12 points and one rebound in the loss. Welcome back, though, because this game marked a key moment for the Pacers health this season.
For just the second time this campaign, the Pacers had six of their top nine players from 2024-25 available in a game as Sheppard, Nesmith, Nembhard, Mathurin, Siakam, and T.J. McConnell were all active. The first time it happened? Opening night, and Nembhard left at halftime. Both of those games were competitive for the Pacers, and they'll hope that trend continues as it appears they will have their top guys (sans Obi Toppin) available against the San Antonio Spurs tonight.
Micah Potter, hello
Micah Potter had been doing some interesting things for the Pacers already (six assists against the Rockets? Nine points against the Celtics?), but this outing against Orlando was something new entirely.
Potter gave the Pacers good minutes in the first half, making his only shot on his way to four points, two assists, and one rebound at the break. The game flowed well on both ends with the newly-signed big man on the floor – the Pacers were +17 with Potter in the game during the first half.
Huff, meanwhile, struggled. Tony Bradley is what he is. So, the Pacers started Potter in the second half of the game (and Aaron Nesmith) alongside the normal opening group.
The fifth-year pro kept producing. Potter took one corner three that I wonder if he'd like back, but he otherwise was sharp and effective, finishing with four points, one assist, and two rebounds in just over 14 second-half minutes. For the night, Potter put eight points, three rebounds, and three assists in the stat sheet as the Pacers beat the Magic by 23 with him on the floor.
Plus-23. In a two-point loss. And he played over half the game. Okay, then!
"Micah just knows the game. Plays hard, physical. Kinda just fits in," Nembhard said. "He's a good hooper. He's had a lot of experience and can kind of just fill in."
We'll see what the Pacers decide to do when contracts become guaranteed early next week, but Potter is making his case to be retained. Tony Bradley's contract is completely non-guaranteed as well. Keep an eye on this, and the Pacers center rotation in general, with Isaiah Jackson still sidelined and Huff continuing to struggle.
With more health, a new rotation, some pettiness called out, and Victor Wembanyama hurt, perhaps the Pacers could grab win number seven tonight. They've lost 10 in a row for the seventh time in franchise history and will try to prevent the longest losing streak ever for the Pacers even in the coming days.
Thank you for reading and Happy New Year. Plenty to come with this Pacers team approaching the trade deadline, so subscribe below so you don't miss a thing.
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