The Pacers suffered their first loss of the year last game out. Despite a frustrating night, it's hard to be too down on the boys after fighting tooth and nail with one of the best teams in the league – all without Tyrese Haliburton, mind you.

The frustration did get the best of Mathurin, however. Due to his altercation with a referee that saw him ejected from the game, he will be suspended tonight against the Pistons.

Interestingly, the Pacers get to put a little extra space between themselves and the uncomfortably close Luxury Tax threshold as a result of the suspension.

It feels like the Pacers have had their fair share of matchups with playoff-like atmospheres recently and tonight should be no different. The Pistons are neck and neck with us in the standings and both teams will be motivated to get a leg up on a division rival.

The Pistons are 11-3 over the last month so the Pacers will need every bit of concentration they have if they don't want to compound the frustration. Though it isn't necessarily reflected in the season numbers, Detroit's defense has been excellent over the course of their hot streak.

Nevertheless, as you can see above, our offense has crept back into the top-10 in points-per-possession according to Cleaning the Glass. If we can figure out a zone, we'll be back to dropping ungodly totals on teams in no time.

Speaking of facing a zone, I saw Kenny Atkinson said that the goal of the zone was to eliminate Siakam's post touches and McConnell's probing drives into the lane. I think that highlights a weakness of this team when it doesn't have Tyrese Haliburton's three point shooting on the court (whether it's because of an injury or he's simply having a cold night).

So much of what the Pacers do well relies on making threes and taking advantage of the space that creates. Whether it's a personnel issue or a scheme issue, I'd like to see the Pacers role players be better at making teams pay for going zone against us.

Injuries

Speaking of personnel, we're getting two very good shooters back on the floor tonight – one of whom has been out for months. That's right, Aaron Nesmith is back!

Don't expect Nesmith to play very much tonight after an extended absence but hopefully this is the beginning of a run of relative health for the team.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.

TV: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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