I wrote before Friday's contest that every game has felt like an outlier for one reason or another – a symptom of having only played six games, no doubt. But looking over the stats, the Hornets game really does feel unique. Before Saturday, the team's three point shooting percentage was a solid indicator of whether a matchup would end in a win or a loss. That streak came to a screeching halt against the Hornets, as the Pacers shot a blistering ~49% from deep – including a 50 point 3rd quarter on the way to 124 points – and still came up short.

Courtesy of Cleaning the Glass

The issue – and stop me if you've heard this before – is defense. I've talked about how the Pacers are actually doing what they set out to do in running opponents off the line and limiting threes. However when they do that, it seems opponents are getting all the way to the rim rather than being stranded in the mid-range. Disregard San Antonio's stats and focus on the Pacers' ranks below.

  • They give up the most shots at the rim in the league
  • The fewest threes in the league
  • And are in the bottom quarter of the league in forcing long twos.
Courtesy of Cleaning the Glass

Interestingly, the accuracy percentages are essentially the inverse. Pacers' opponents shoot incredibly well on the threes they do take and below league average on the shots in close.

Courtesy of Cleaning the Glass

I'll defer to a great tweet thread by the inimitable C. Coop as to the mechanics of the Pacers' defensive failures.

Unless the Pacers get that internal development or make a trade for better defensive players, one thing seems painfully clear: if the Pacers don't score the lights out, they lose.

Courtesy of Cleaning the Glass

The San Antonio Frenchmen, er, Spurs

Wembymania makes a pit stop in the crossroads of American tonight. The Spurs are coming off an OT loss in Texas last night, hopefully we'll face a team with tired legs.

The Spurs have a few notable names on the injury list but the only one any of you care about is healthy as a Percheron horse.

The Myles Turner/Wemby matchup is obviously something that stands out on paper, but I'll be keeping an eye on the cross-matches. As Caitlin mentioned above, our best defensive lineup has Nesmith getting cross-matched onto the 5. That may work against many modern centers, but against the skilled behemoth that is Victor Wembanyama, I have my reservations about the strategy. Could we see Carlisle reach deep into the bench for reinforcement bigs? He hasn't so far this season.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

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