Indiana Pacers: 4-game losing streak by the numbers
After a 5-3 start, the Indiana Pacers are now on a four-game losing streak. Here are some numbers that tell the story of what has gone wrong recently.
After an offseason of drama — and massive change — the Indiana Pacers got off to a surprising 5-3 start to begin the 2017-18 campaign.
However, the wheels have fallen off recently as indicated by the team’s current four-game losing skid. As expected, team statistics are down across the board over the last four contests, but what about individual players?
Shooting guard Victor Oladipo began the season with an eight-game run that included averages of 23.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. His shooting splits were also impressive (.485/.500/.878).
Oladipo’s basic statistics haven’t really suffered during the losing streak, but his efficiency certainly has. He’s posting 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest over that span, but his shooting numbers have dropped significantly.
Oladipo is shooting 41.8 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from 3-point range and 71.4 percent from the free throw line over the last four games — not very effective in comparison to his first eight games in a Pacers uniform.
Victor Oladipo is typically a very good defensive guard, but his play on that end of the floor has also slipped during the team’s 0-4 run — his Defensive Rating has gone from 100.0 (first eight games) to 117.5 (last four contests).
Myles Turner only played in one game during Indiana’s 5-3 start, but he came out of the gate looking like a potential All-Star (21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots on 61.5 percent shooting on opening night).
Since returning from injury, Turner has been decent, but certainly far from the type of player he is capable of being. During the losing skid, Turner is producing 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game on 41.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Another Pacer who started strong but has cooled off is point guard Darren Collison. Collison started the season by averaging 14.3 points, 7.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per night through eight games. His shooting splits were also very good (.532/.385/.880).
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During the losing streak, Collison’s numbers are down to 9.0 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per contest. His field goal shooting has also headed south during this time (36.6 percent overall, 23.1 percent from deep).
Like Oladipo, Darren Collison’s Defensive Rating has suffered since the losing skid began, going from 101.4 to 118.4 over the last four games that all ended in defeat.
Domantas Sabonis has actually played well lately (and all season for that matter), but he has missed two games during the losing streak due to a calf injury.
Sabonis sat out games against the New Orleans Pelicans (DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis) and the Detroit Pistons (Andre Drummond); his presence against those teams’ bigs could have made a difference in those losses.
Although he is a lower-rotation player, T.J. Leaf was giving Indiana some solid minutes until he sprained his ankle against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 3.
Leaf was producing well in limited minutes (6.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest) and shooting the ball with confidence, hitting 50 percent of his 3-point tries through eight games.
Since the injury, Leaf has struggled to the tune of 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per night on 28.6 percent field goal shooting, which includes missing all of his 3-point attempts during that span.
Looking at the big picture, the Pacers had fourth quarter leads in three of the four recent losses, so closing out games has been a particular problem during the losing skein.
Losing is never good (unless tanking is part of the plan), but Indiana’s struggles over the last four contests do not warrant hitting the panic button.
The Pacers actually played well for most of those games, but they ran into some very hot players who dominated down the stretch (J.J. Redick, Kristaps Porzingis and Anthony Davis). Three of the four losses were on the road as well.
Next: 2017-18 Week 4 NBA Power Rankings
The defeats have been piling up, but Indiana just needs to stay the course. Overall, they are still outperforming the gloomy forecast that most pinned on them to begin the year, so patience and persistence should be enough to get them back on track soon.