The Pacers are back in Indy tonight after a week long road trip. Hopefully some home cooking served them well because they desperately need a W to stop the bleeding. The game is more than winnable, but as the Hornets proved in the first meeting, the Pacers will have to play well to pull it out. Last time around the Pacers were too sloppy in possession, resulting in a heartbreaking one point loss.

How can the home team get back to playing winning basketball? Head Coach Rick Carlisle has some thoughts below (spoiler alert: it starts with accountability on defense).

According to Myles Turner, the practice yesterday was full of energy and guys are fed up with playing poorly.

I've seen echoes of that sentiment throughout the organization. Exhibit 1 below comes from Pacers scout, Kevin Pritchard Jr. If that name sounds familiar, it's because... well, I don't really need to tell you 1+1=2, do I?

Rick Carlisle, when speaking about shaking up rotations, also touched on the ever hot topic of Jarace Walker's (and to a lesser extent, Ben Sheppard's) playing time. He acknowledged that the team is trying to walk a tightrope in satisfying both the season goal of making the playoffs and the longterm goal of organically building a championship team.

That issue is particularly timely after Walker and Sheppard were a bit controversially sent to the G-League Showcase in Miami earlier this week instead of being used to bolster an injury depleted Pacers roster.

Walker, for his part, seems to be doing the work. He lit up the showcase in Miami, resoundingly answering the question of which team he belongs with.

Of course, in true Pacer fashion, the growth Carlisle is most interested in isn't the kind that Slam tweets about. He wants Walker to be a more solid defender, specifically by cutting out gambling for steals.

Injuries

The Pacers are the healthiest they've been in a while. Both Myles Turner and Jalen Smith are back in action tonight.

Andrew Nembhard is still out but if the shoot around footage is any indication, he's not terribly far away from returning himself.

As such, Carlisle's veteran-laden starting unit will be available tonight, should he decide to keep it in tact. Even though they've struggled mightily since the IST Final, the group still ranks as one of the best lineups in the league in net rating. Hopefully that suggests a return to the mean is only a matter of time.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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