Things seemed close. Tyrese was playing at a near MVP level. The role players were playing their roles. The front office even plugged the only glaring hole on the roster with a two-time All-NBA player. But in the words of Paul Simon, "you know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away."

The Pacers have indeed been slip slidin' over the past two weeks. The team is 3-5 over that stretch, heading into Charlotte on a three game losing streak. At present, they are only a half-game in front of Miami and play-in territory. The frustrating thing about this stretch is it feels like the Pacers have played a lot of good basketball. The combination of injuries and a grueling schedule simply has them playing with a hand tied behind their backs.

So what do they need to do to get back on track? It all starts with getting Tyrese feeling 100%. Though he's back in the lineup (well, maybe not tonight), his injured hamstring hasn't disappeared.

The next thing the Pacers need to do is take advantage of games like this against Charlotte. All year, the team's achilles heel has been playing flat against "inferior" opponents. In fact, they've split the season series with the Hornets so far (1-1).

Charlotte has been without LaMelo Ball since January 26th. During that time rookie Brandon Miller has ascended, scoring 20+ in seven of the last nine games. Despite his output, Charlotte is the worst team in the league in net points per possession over the last two weeks, a stretch that saw them go 1-6. Their offense ranks a pitiful 26th and their defense a putrid 30th. In Charlotte's last game, the Thunder shot 58.7% from the field – and that was only the fourth highest team fg% they've surrendered this season.

If they Pacers want to tread water until they get back into fighting shape. Tonight is a must win.

Injuries

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 6:00 PM ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

Tagged in:

Game Thread