What's happened to the Indiana Pacers?
More to the point, what's going on with Tyrese Haliburton? Their most important player has been a massive disappointment so far this year. Go figure.
What’s happened to the Indiana Pacers?
More to the point, what’s happened to Tyrese Haliburton, who was hearing “MVP” chants early last year, only to return this year as a ghost of the player he once was?
When a team like the Pacers goes sideways, there’s usually a myriad of reasons behind the decline.
That’s somewhat true of this team, having been partially undermined by the injuries to their two backup big men, Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman, along with the losses of their three best wing defenders, Andrew Nembhard (who’s now back), Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard. All those guys were connectors who made the whole so compelling. Truth is, when Nesmith returns, I’d throw him back into the starting lineup and use Ben Mathurin as the primary scorer, the sixth man, on the second unit.
But you look at the numbers, there’s one that stands out:
The Pacers, the best offensive team in the league last year and a team that scored at a historical rate, have fallen to 23rd in the league. Twenty-third.
Complain all you want about defense – truth is, their defensive numbers now rank closely with the defensive numbers from this time a year ago – but it’s the offense that has gone on the fritz.
And who controls the offense more than anybody else?
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