What was that about the Indiana Pacers being a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference?
Oh, yeah: They aren’t one.
Lots of people, including team president Larry Bird, tried to spin the Pacers as an above-average squad leading into this season—as a team that might be able to reinvent its offensive identity without losing too many steps on the defensive end.
That, quite clearly, hasn’t happened. And Paul George seems pretty pissed about it.
As he said after the Pacers’ 22-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, per the Indianapolis Star‘s Nate Taylor:
Paul George: “We’re all out of whack. There’s no trust, there’s no chemistry, there’s no belief. We’re kind of just lifeless right now.”
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) November 8, 2016
Sounds about right.
The Pacers are now 3-4, and while they rank in the top 10 of possessions used per 48 minutes, the offense ranks just 15th in offensive efficiency. And that’s not worth the trade-off they’re experiencing on defense, where they are a disastrous 28th in points allowed per 100 possessions.
There is no clear remedy to the Pacers’ woes on the roster. The offense might get more efficient, but it’ll never be elite. That demands too many non-shooters working together. On defense, they just don’t have the depth to replicate last season’s success, or to even be average. Some scoffed at their decision to swap out George Hill for Jeff Teague, but it was a big deal—as was their decision to let Ian Mahinmi walk and give the starting 5 spot to Myles Turner, though that was at least a justifiable move for the future.
All of which suggests the Pacers must look to the trade market if they’re to make anything real of this season. What they have now isn’t cutting it, and the solution to their problems won’t be coming from within.
