Last Week: Lost to Utah Jazz 103-95, Lost to Brooklyn Nets 104-94, Beat Detroit Pistons 111-95, Beat Atlanta Hawks 125-113
This Week: 2/15 vs. Chicago Bulls, 2/17 at Minnesota Timberwolves, 2/20 at Houston Rockets
After dipping below .500 earlier this week for the first time all season, the Indiana Pacers have won two in a row with hopes of getting back on track. The warning signs are still pretty clear, but with a slightly easier week ahead, perhaps another win streak is in the works.
The losses to the Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets were not as close as the final score would indicate and exposed the depth issues caused by all of the injuries Indiana is currently dealing with. While Caris LeVert has been able to join the team, there is still no timeline on his or TJ Warren’s return to the lineup. Until they are back, the stars for the Pacers are spread incredibly thin.
Playing such high minutes with this demanding of a workload has started to take its toll on the top three Pacers remaining. Malcolm Brogdon’s production has been on a steady decline for a few weeks, and this week he posted a line of 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. The fact that he shot just 36.2 percent from the field is the most problematic for a guy known to be extremely efficient.
Domantas Sabonis has also started to tail off and this week was also unable to average 20 points per game. Sabonis posted averages of 19.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks a night.
That combination is undoubtedly good, but for a team struggling to maintain a winning record while two of their top four offensive options are out of the lineup, it may not be good enough. Combined with the fact that Myles Turner could only muster 11.8 points per game and his block numbers was on a more human level (1.8 per game), the Pacers are still in a bit of trouble.