Indiana Pacers finally return home after going 2-5 on multi-week long road trip
The Indiana Pacers just finished one of their most brutal stretches of games in the 2022-23 season. In 11 days, the team played seven road games in three different time zones, including one game in the Salt Lake City Altitude, and all of them were against strong Western Conference opponents.
The Pacers went 2-5 in the stretch, taking down the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers in dramatic fashion. It was their longest road trip since the 1985-86 season, per Pacers play-by-play announcer Chris Denari.
"As the schedule gets busier, this will become more challenging," head coach Rick Carlsile said when asked about his team's defensive improvement before the road trip began. He noted that he felt the team had a favorable stretch of schedule in terms of game timing early in the campaign.
During the seven-game road trip, the Pacers struggled. In six of the seven games, they trailed by 17+ points at one moment in the game — only against Golden State did they consistently keep the game close. The team floundered to open games and couldn't recover, and injuries to Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner during the trip didn't help.
What made the team's issues so jarring is that they were different on a game-to-game basis. In Portland and Los Angeles, they couldn't score. In each of those outings, they finished with just 100 points, tied for their second-lowest total this season.
In Sacramento, Utah, and Minnesota, they couldn't defend. All of those teams scored 120+ points and overwhelmed the Pacers. The Pacers have improved defensively throughout the season, but you wouldn't know it based on those games.
Altogether, the numbers are alarming. When looking at each NBA team's last seven games, Indiana is last in offensive rating at 104.4. The next lowest team, Orlando, is at 106.2. The Pacers offense was ghastly on their road trip — they shot under 50% on two-point shots (187/377) during the trek. They were decent enough from beyond the arc, but the inability to consistently get all the way to the rim for easy looks hurt the blue and gold on the offensive end.
On defense, the Pacers rank 16th over each team's last seven games. They are right around league average. Prior to this road trip, that would have been good enough for the blue and gold, their offense was strong earlier in the campaign. But when their scoring dipped, they could no longer afford to be just average on defense and still win.
Conceding 137 points (against the Kings) and then 139 two nights later (against the Jazz) inflates the defensive numbers a bit. But the Pacers couldn't get enough stops to be the team they wanted to be on their road trip.
Fortunately, it wasn't all bad. Indiana learned a lot about the squad they have. Jalen Smith found ways to be more effective as he averaged 14.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during his six appearances. He finally broke out of a slump and looked like the Pacers best player at times.
48th overall pick Kendall Brown played in five games throughout the trip, and his athleticism shined on defense. He knocked down half of his shots and grabbed six rebounds, and the team was a +4 across all of his minutes. He may not get a ton of playing time going forward, but he did show some promise and took advantage of his playing time.
And of course, Andrew Nembhard made a name for himself. He finished with 12 points against the Lakers, including a buzzer-beating three pointer over LeBron James to get the Pacers their first win of the road trip. Then, he effectively defended Steph Curry in Golden State while adding 31 points, eight rebounds, and 13 assists in the team's final win of the trek. He averaged 14.2 points and 6.5 assists per game during his six games played out West and proved that he should be an every day player for the blue and gold.
"He was masterful tonight," Carlisle said of Nembhard after that game against the reigning NBA Champions.
In general, the Pacers can't feel great about their road trip. Their best players were inconsistent, and some flaws were exposed in the team's ability to score. They will need to adjust in their upcoming four-game homestand.
But some role players found their groove, and the team is still over .500 at 13-12 after 25 games. It wasn't all bad for the Pacers, and they now have some breathing room for the rest of the season — they'll play more games at home than on the road the rest of the way. That begins on Friday when they host the Washington Wizards.
- League source tells AllPacers the latest on Chris Duarte's ankle injury. CLICK HERE.
- Former Pacers All-Star center Domantas Sabonis on the Indiana Pacers: 'They're having a great season'. CLICK HERE.
- Inside Tyrese Haliburton's return to Sacramento and the emotions behind the game. CLICK HERE.
- Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs on Indiana Pacers rookie Andrew Nembhard: 'He has such a high basketball IQ.' CLICK HERE.
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