Let's forget about the disaster that was last night's game. The Pacers got punched in the mouth from the opening tip and dropped game one to Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks.

All year the Pacers have been a team that won with offense and unfortunately that offense did not show up on Sunday. Compare the Pacers' offensive efficiency last night to their season averages.

Season Averages

Indy was almost 24 points per possession below its average and about 14% worse on eFG%. Credit to the Bucks defense for making life tough on Tyrese Haliburton (who only attempted seven shots) but his teammates simply missed looks that they normally make.

"I think that we got jumped into the playoffs. We have a young group that hasn't experienced this level," Myles Turner said in his post-game press conference. Rick Carlisle seemed to agree that experience gap played a factor, "They looked like the experienced team, and we looked inexperienced. That led to a lot of the problems early."

After the dismal first half, where the Pacers scored a season low 42 points, the team righted the ship a bit in the third quarter. Ultimately, however, the deficit was simply too much to overcome. Going into Game 2, the message all around the team is playing with intensity for the entire game. "The first half was so bad. I'm not into moral victories at this point. We've just got to be a hell of a lot better for 48 minutes," in the words of Carlisle. "Put together a full 48 minute game, we'll be on the other side of the scoreboard," said Aaron Nesmith.

The Playoffs were never going to be easy and the Pacers certainly took an ass kicking in Game 1. It's time to pick themselves off the mat and fight back.

Palate Cleanser Basketball

Plenty of ball to watch tonight to help you forget about Game 1.