How the Indiana Pacers could morph with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined
The Indiana Pacers will be without Tyrese Haliburton, their most talented offensive player, for a few weeks. He suffered a left knee bone contusion and left elbow sprain on Wednesday in a game againsts the New York Knicks and will miss time.
Haliburton is a significant loss for the blue and gold. He is the team's best player and its beating heart on offense, and it became more clear exactly what Indiana lost on Friday. They battled the Atlanta Hawks and fell 113-111, shooting just 39.6% from the field.
They made just seven threes against Atlanta, a season low. Their offensive rating (112.1) was lower than their season average, and they struggled significantly scoring in the clutch. Without their offensive star, the Pacers were forced to play differently to stay in the game.
"Some things are going to change just by nature of not having an All-Star caliber point guard. But our team's style of play, and our other two point guards play this [current] style well too. It's just going to be different," head coach Rick Carlisle said before the game.
Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner were also out for the Pacers, so their rotation was drastically altered. The blue and gold did many things differently to keep up with the Hawks.
First and foremost, they played the possession game. Indiana had 19 offensive rebounds and 12 turnovers, both of which were superior numbers to Atlanta. As a result, the Pacers attempted seven more shots and eight more free throws than their opponent.
They weren't efficient with their looks, but there is more room for inaccurate play when a team has more possessions. The Pacers shot four percent worse from the field and made nine fewer threes, but they were in a tight battle for most of the game because they won the possession battle.
That will be paramount without Haliburton for the next few weeks. Indiana's offensive rating is over five points per 100 possessions better with Haliburton on the court than on the bench, and the team's effective field goal percentage jumps from 50.4% with Haliburton on the bench to 56.0% when he's in the game. He makes the whole team more efficient.
Without him, and that efficiency boost, the Pacers will need all the extra chances they can get. Expect them to try to take care of the ball and be more aggressive on the offensive glass without their talented point guard going forward. "Our margins for error are just really almost nonexistent," head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game.
The Pacers played a little bit slower, too, without Haliburton. Their pace was below 100 against the Hawks despite being over 101 on the season. That will be a tricky change to overcome. Indiana has played fast all season, and it is a major part of their identity. Slowing down too much could hurt the team's effectiveness, though a small drop in pace may be required without Haliburton's wizardry.
"We've got to play with a lot of pace, get the ball poppin. Defensively, we've got to fly around, make that side of the ball something we can lean on," Andrew Nembhard, who started at point guard in Haliburton's absence, said before the game.
Nembhard, who the Pacers drafted 31st overall and has had a wonderful season, will be the player who sees the most change with Haliburton sidelined. Usually, the rookie plays an off-ball role for the blue and gold, and he has thrived as a nosy defender. Now, though, he will transition into a temporary on-ball role. He has played point guard his entire life, so the job isn't new to him. But doing it for the Pacers specifically is a relatively fresh task.
"When I'm on ball, I've got to direct more, set up more," Nembhard said before the game, noting that game control will be important. "I feel as though we can do the same things," big man Jalen Smith added of how the team will play with Nembhard and backup T.J. McConnell running the show more often.
Carlisle noted before the game that the Pacers would be relying heavily on McConnell and Nembhard, and that played out just as he predicted. Haliburton accounts for 35.5% of Indiana's assists this season — other point guards will need to be masterful setup men to make up for that loss. Nembhard and McConnell combined for 12 of the Pacers' 24 assists on Friday.
Between a slightly altered pace and an increased emphasis on the possession game, the Pacers will look a little different than the speedy pests that they have been all season. Their identity won't change much, and they should still be good in transition as well as from long range. But they need to gain more little advantages with their margin for error shrinking.
They will also need to adopt the "next man up," mentality. Hawks head coach Nate McMillan was the Pacers coach when Indiana lost Victor Oladipo for an extended time, and he remembers what a team has to do to adjust without its star.
"It's really next man up. I think most teams take that approach," McMillan said. "[Indiana's] bench has been pretty good for them all season long, so when you have injuries... it's an opportunity for some other guys to step up and perform."
For the Pacers, Nembhard is that guy who will have the biggest responsibility to step up. He will have an opportunity to shine and improve now, which is something that Carlisle noted is the one of the only good things that can come from big injuries.
"We'll get a chance to see [Andrew Nembhard] play more point," Carlisle said. The organization has a lot of confidence in the young guard. He has averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game in three games without Haliburton this season.
But it isn't only on Nembhard to help the Pacers adjust to their temporary life without their star. "Now, everyone else will adjust a little bit." Carlisle said, noting that the team made some tweaks to their gameplan in that day's walkthrough, and they will continue to adjust as they go.
The Indiana Pacers will evolve during the few weeks without Tyrese Haliburton, and they will get better at playing without him. But it will be a challenge, and they are now 1-2 when he sits. With the season just crossing the halfway point, much of the Pacers' fate this campaign could be determined by how well they adjust to the upcoming time without their franchise player.
- Tyrese Haliburton suffers left knee bone contusion and left elbow sprain, will be out at least two weeks for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers reach the halfway point of their season well above expectations. CLICK HERE.
- Oshae Brissett has contract become fully guaranteed, not waived by the Indiana Pacers before the guarantee deadline. CLICK HERE.
- The Indiana Pacers have become one of the best clutch teams in the NBA. CLICK HERE.
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