Five reasons why the Indiana Pacers have lost five straight games
The Indiana Pacers are on their longest losing streak of the season. They have lost five straight games dating back to January 11, and they have dropped down to 23-23. They are now in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and only three games ahead of the 11th-seeded Toronto Raptors. They are clinging to play-in positioning.
The losing streak coincides with many injuries, but the headliner has been point guard Tyrese Haliburton's absence. The Pacers are 1-5 without him this season, and they have struggled to remain competitive in many games this past week with him sidelined.
Indiana hasn't been under .500 since December 18, and that lasted for all of three days. They need to clean up their play and end their losing streak if they want to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
That won't be easy. The team looks disconnected recently and has been unable to put together a strong outing for a full 48 minutes. The Pacers are in a major slump, and there are five key reasons why.
1. The Pacers miss Tyrese Haliburton
The Pacers aren't just missing Tyrese Haliburton and his 20+ points and 10+ assists per game. They are also missing the significant impact that he has on the success of his teammates and the way that he shapes the team's identity.
Several players who play well off of Haliburton — such as Buddy Hield and Aaron Nesmith — have been less efficient on offense in his absence. The Pacers aren't as threatening in transition, which has been their bread and butter all season. They are just a different team without their best player. That was always going to be the case, but now Haliburton's impact is even more clear.
The Pacers offense is over six points per 100 possessions better with Haliburton on the court than on the bench. His absence is making it harder for the blue and gold to win.
2. Indiana can't make threes right now
The Pacers have knocked down 36.5% of their threes this season, good for 12th in the league. During their ongoing five-game losing streak, that accuracy has tumbled down to 32.3%, and much of that percentage is held up by one strong game (19/40) in Milwaukee.
Haliburton is a good shooter himself, and his ability to set up others makes his teammate's lives easier from deep. But even without him, Indiana should be shooting better than this.
Hied had his first game of the season in which he did not make a single three-point shot during the losing streak. Nesmith is 2/15 from outside the arc in the same span while Andrew Nembhard is 7/25 and Oshae Brissett is 2/15. The Pacers need to find their groove from deep.
3. The Pacers are turning the ball over too much
Indiana averages 15.4 turnovers per game this year, which already ranks near the bottom of the league. They are a young team that makes a ton of passes, they are bound to have some errors every night.
But their recent stretch features far too many of those errors. They have coughed up 82 turnovers in their last five games — they are playing carelessly despite not having Haliburton. Their turnover rate is the third worst in the NBA over the last five games, and their offense rating is also third-worst.
The blue and gold need more possessions with Haliburton sidelined. Head coach Rick Carlisle recently said that the team's margin for error is slim. They need to take better care of the ball to widen that margin.
4. The point of attack defense has regressed
The Pacers defense hasn't been a strength throughout the season, but it has been passable. Recently, though, Indiana has taken a step back on the less glamorous end of the court.
Their defensive rating during is 119.0 in their last five games, good for 22nd in the NBA. The point of attack defense, in particular, has looked weak. It has allowed Jalen Brunson (34 points), Trae Young (26 points and 11 assists), Ja Morant (23 points and 10 assists), Jrue Holiday (35 points and 11 assists), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23 points) to have great outings.
The Pacers must stay in front of ball handlers and prevent drives. Otherwise, their shaken-up rotation is scrambling and recovering on defense too often, and that is causing issues.
5. The Pacers aren't running as much
The Paceres lead the league in fast break points per game at 18.9. They have been an excellent team in transition all season long.
While the Pacers did well in transition against Atlanta in the first game after Haliburton's injury, they have averaged 15 points per game in transition since, good for 13th in the league. They aren't getting as many stops, which limits open floor opportunities. But they also haven't capitalized on their transition chances of late.
Since the Pacers half court offense will be worse until Haliburton returns, they must take advantage of transition play. Otherwise, they will scarcely score enough to win.
Indiana will attempt to end its losing streak this weekend when it takes on Denver and Phoenix on the road. Cleaning up these areas could help the team win again.
- Tyrese Haliburton suffers left knee bone contusion and left elbow sprain, will be out at least two weeks for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Report: Goga Bitadze is the 'most likely' Indiana Pacers big man to be traded this season. CLICK HERE.
- Myles Turner has improved significantly this season. Just ask his former teammates and coaches. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers wing Chris Duarte breaks out of slump vs Memphis Grizzlies: 'I needed it.' CLICK HERE.
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