Turnovers doom Pacers vs Grizzlies as new lineups get familiar
Another Pacers "loss" vs a bad team.
INDIANAPOLIS – It's hard for the Pacers to string together four good quarters in their current reality.
With so many players getting injured across the last few weeks and new faces on the roster, unfamiliar lineups are getting heavy minutes. Much of the roster is playing a bigger role or, at least, being asked to suit up more often than they are used to.
Those ingredients don't combine to make anything good. The Pacers lost their sixth game in a row on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, and much of the team's struggles in the last half-dozen games can be traced back to a lack of familiarity.
With fewer lineup combinations available and less defensive chemistry, the Pacers gave up 130+ points in four-straight games leading up to their battle with Memphis. And since the All-Star break, they've been throwing the ball all over the gym – with starters sidelined, younger players are taking over ball handling responsibilities and have been sloppy. The Pacers have turned the ball over 16-plus times in five games since the All-Star break.
Tony East
"Some of these games, we haven't had some of our main guys due to injuries and other things. That's a factor," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Sunday night. "We've got some guys that are getting experience. Oftentimes, getting experience is painful. Turnovers, unfortunately, can be a significant part of it."
That was certainly the case against the Grizzlies. The Pacers had 19 turnovers with six different players coughing up the ball multiple times. Jay Huff, going against his former team, had a career-high five turnovers. It was all costly.
The possession battle in general was painful on Sunday night. The Pacers had 31 rebounds as a team with only Micah Potter and Quenton Jackson – a guard! – pulling in five or more. The Grizzlies had 40 boards, and they were spread out across their roster. Memphis had 12 turnovers, six fewer than the Pacers. Together, those advantages gave the Grizzlies 14 more shot attempts. The Pacers shot nearly 50% from the field and attempted more free throws yet never led after the second quarter.
"It starts off with spacing," forward Jarace Walker said of the Pacers turnover issues. That's something the team can focus on, but spacing issues pop up when players are in unfamiliar roles and situations.
Even with the possession woes, the Pacers held on for a while. They were down by just five points with six minutes remaining in the game. But the Grizzlies put together a 21-7 burst to close the door and hand the Pacers their sixth-straight loss.
Given where the two teams are in the inverse standings, it's a fine result for the Pacers. But they've been missing some of the progress they hoped to see post All-Star break. Losing isn't as painful at this point in the season, but getting blasted by double figures every night is concerning. The Pacers have been outscored by 88 points in the half-dozen games they've played since the pause in the schedule – an average margin of defeat of nearly 15.
"You've just got to play the game. I feel like the game always talks to you," Walker said of the challenges everyone is facing due to injuries and new acquisitions. "You just play it the right way, make simple plays, don't force anything."
On Sunday, the Pacers were without their entire projected starting five for next season of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac. Obi Toppin is limited in how many minutes he can play. Kobe Brown hasn't been on the roster for a month, yet played 27 minutes. Micah Potter just crossed two months with the blue and gold and neared 25 minutes of action.
That's not to say the Pacers are making poor rotational choices. It's the hand they've been dealt and the incentives in front of them. But it has led to some ugly basketball and significant losses, most recently their 125-106 loss to the Grizzlies. They've got to clean up some of their mistakes before heading out West for a four-game road trip.
Pacers keep trying new lineups
Let's dig into the numbers of the Pacers lineup juggling – really just one number. Sunday night, the Pacers started Kam Jones, Ben Sheppard, Walker, Toppin, and Huff. That group of five had never played together before yet were the opening unit against the Grizzlies.
It was the Pacers 34th starting lineup of the 2025-26 season. Last season, they had 18 starting lineups. The year prior, just 26. That's 44 combined across the previous two seasons, and the Pacers are approaching that number in just this campaign with 21 games to go. Jalen Slawson and Ivica Zubac could make that number climb even higher.
Recently, Carlisle has turned to lineups that feature three point guards (some combination of Jones, Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, and Quenton Jackson) at the same time. Huff and Potter, the team's only healthy centers, have played together in a few recent games. There is plenty of experimenting going on, and a new group of five hits the hardwood almost every night.
It no doubt plays a part in the team's struggles. Yet giving young players a challenge and finding successful combinations is exactly what the Pacers should be doing right now.
Where is Jalen Slawson?
The Pacers signed Jalen Slawson to a two-way contract on Saturday, meaning it was possible he could have debuted against the Grizzlies. But he didn't, he hasn't even linked up with the Pacers since signing his new contract.
Instead, Carlisle explained, Slawson is still with the Boom. "He's in Mexico," the head coach said pregame. Noblesville is in the middle of a set against the Capitanes.
Slawson is playing very well in the G League right now. Four games ago, he posted a triple double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. His last two games have both been double doubles (30 points and 11 assists last Friday, 24 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday). He's improved a great deal this season.
Carlisle likes that the Boom play a nearly-identical style to the Pacers, and that will help Slawson get going quickly when he does eventually join the NBA club.
Ben Sheppard keeps hitting threes
It is impossible to talk about Sheppard's season without mentioning how poorly he shot the ball to open the campaign. Across the Pacers first 17 games, Sheppard took more than four three-point shots per game yet shot below 20% on his long range attempts.
Since then? He's been great shooting the ball. From November 26 through today, over three months, Sheppard is scoring 7.5 points per game and knocking down 45.6% of his threes. He's attempting 3.5 per contest in that span. Sheppard is now posting his best-ever season-long accuracy from deep – a remarkable feat given his poor start.
The young guard is, however, shooting a career-worst figure on two-point shots. But his improvements from beyond the arc are vital given that there is a rotation spot up for grabs next season with Bennedict Mathurin gone. Sheppard is making his case to seize it.
Thank you for reading. The Pacers head out West for a four-game road trip this week, and I will be at three of the games. Subscribe to not miss any coverage, including games against Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson.
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