If Indianapolis were a fair weather city, or we were fair weather fans, I'd find it hard to resist the urge to totally ignore the Pacers right now and focus on the Caitlin Clark show. The future Fever guard continues to make history, last night passing Pistol Pete Maravich as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer.

The woman is a star and the world can't help but pay attention. She bridges the gap from Nolan Ryan to Travis Scott (I guess they're both from Texas towns near the Gulf... but still).

Of course with star power comes increased ticket demand. I've been to a few Fever games over the years and I've always found it to be a great bargain. You can generally get great seats for a high-level basketball game without breaking the bank. For example, the team was running a $1 ticket promotion after they won the first overall pick. On the secondary market? Well let's just say that the Caitlin Clark effect is in full effect.

Anyway, enough with the shiny, new toys – the Pacers play tonight. Remember when they were shiny and new? Feels like a distant memory, especially after the drubbing they suffered in New Orleans on Friday night.

New Orleans jumped all over Indiana from the opening tip. The home team tied a franchise record by scoring 48 first quarter points on 90.9% shooting from the floor. The Pacers did not record a defensive rebound in the first quarter. I repeat, they went AN ENTIRE QUARTER without securing a defensive board. If that doesn't tell you how bad things went, this next stat will.

Tyrese Haliburton did not score a single point in about 23 minutes of play. Due to injuries, the Pacers have had plenty of chances to see that the team with Haliburton is an entirely different animal than the team without him. Last game, he might as well not have played, which contributed to a predictably disastrous outing for the Blue & Gold.

Still, it would be unfair to lay all the blame at his feet. Certainly, that's the message from the Pacers' locker room. "This is a Pacers' thing," Head Coach Rick Carlisle said about Haliburton. "It's not any individual guy. Don't turn this into a Tyrese thing. It's not a Tyrese thing. It's a Pacers' thing."

If there was a silver lining, it was that Jarace Walker played 26 minutes and made contributions all over the floor. Despite struggling mightily to put the ball in the hole, he finished +15 by virtue of his seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and three steals.

The Spurs

The Spurs are having a rebuilding season (polite term for lots of losses) but they have shown bright spots and cannot be overlooked. Case in point, they are coming off a 132-118 win over the OKC Thunder.

Rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama compiled another impressive stat line, putting up 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. Spurs Coach Greg Popovich praised the team's defensive effort in the fourth quarter, saying "any good basketball team is going to play their best defense in that fourth quarter, so to see us [hold] OKC to 22 was impressive." 

Let's hope that defense doesn't carry over into tonight. The last time the teams matched up, Indiana scored the fifth highest single-game point total of the season, beating the Spurs 152-111 at home.

Injuries

I assume Ben Sheppard has travelled with the team to San Antonio after staying behind in New Orleans to recover from an illness that kept him out of the last matchup.

As of the time of writing, he's listed as questionable while Doug McDermott has been ruled out.

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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