Fully healthy Pacers guided by defense in win over Charlotte Hornets + a reason for Pacers optimism
Back in the win column are the Indiana Pacers after beating the Hornets couple standout things from this win Pascal sakam was great the Pacers defense got them a win they held a team under a 100 and I have something that I need to talk to you about that should make you
Optimistic about the rest of the Pacers season spoiler alert it actually already started we’ll get to all of it today on the lock on Pacers podcast you are locked on Pacers your daily Indiana Pacers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day happy Monday y’all hope you had a
Great weekend and welcome into another edition of the lockon Pacers podcast where we of course talk about the Indiana Pacers as always my name’s Tony East I cover the team for Forbes and Si and today we have a lot to talk about Pacers back in the wind column beating
The lowly and injured Charlotte Hornets but man did the Pacers need it they were fully healthy their starting lineup was different they held a team under a hundred what and they won tyres halberton played Just Enough Pascal seaka was awesome so much to dive into for the Pacers from their win in
Charlotte and then we’re g to talk about the thing that I think should be seen as the biggest point of optimism for the Pacers for the remaining two plus months of their season granted it’s also a point of optimism for two teams similar to them in the standings but we will get
There when we get there Hint it actually started on Sunday we will start in Charlotte North Carolina where the Pacers wire to wire mostly stressfree win over the Charlotte Hornets 115 to 99 I already said it twice I’m saying it again you heard that right 99 for the Indiana Pacers defense yes
The Hornets are terrible yes the Pacers have played other terrible teams this season and not giving up less than 100 points they did it they held a team under 100 and won the basketball game one of the best Pacers defensive performances of the Season Charlotte scored 13 points in the first quarter
And 23 in the fourth and 31 in the second which was not very good but the Pacers did well in General on defense throughout the night not only are they playing the lowly Hornets the Hornets did not have lamelo wall or Gordon Hayward or several other somewhat talented players but Brandon Miller was
Fantastic and Miles Bridges did some nice plays and again they gave up 125 to that team they’ve given up over 130 to the Wizards Pacers have been kind of opponent quality be danged kind of defense this year so 99 is impressive and really they set the tone for this
Early right the game chart for this game there was one stressful time in this game we’ll talk about in just a second in general though the Pacers set the tone for this kind of game early they were up nine to zero in the snap of a
Finger they were up seven to zero in like 70 seconds like barely over a minute they were up 7-0 they were up 90 after two two minutes and the finally the Hornets took a timeout at like 9ine to1 or something but that was like the entire difference of the game for most
Of the game like the Pacers were still up nine in the mid to late fourth quarter you know it that was that kind of game where that eight-point lead was significant I guess it was 10 uh in the mid fourth quarter but still like that start to the game was enough for the
Pacers to kind of cruise the rest of the night that was really important for them to jump out to that start both offensively and defensively to get things going and so the start of the game in their defense is the story for the Pacers they got a pretty good night
From just about everybody who hit the floor for any sort of meaningful minutes I will start with Tyrese Halbert but I actually am going to start with the start of the game for the Pacers because we learned before tip off by God can you believe it everyone was available Miles
Turner back in the lineup tyres Halton playing and starting ma was available McConnell feeling better they had their top everybody right so Kendall Brown was active the only inactives were sheway and and and and um Isaiah Wong who were truly inactive and so before we talk about any player individually standing
Out that was a big thing we hadn’t seen that from this Pacers team since they traded for Pascal seak a fully healthy group now they’ve had reasons to do lots of things with their starting five in the interim because of that right some guys in and out some guys playing better
And then playing bad so what they were going to do with their starting lineup was interesting but they finally did in this game what I thought they would do right after the trade which is start inre nard at the two they’ve been starting buddy hee there they started
Maing there against the Kings on Friday I thought that nard made the most sense all along they need the defense in that starting five n hard’s offense is way less important and yes heal is a fantastic offensive fit with the SE yakum halberton Duo but he’s not making
Anything so he’s not really an offensive fit with any group right now if a shot starts falling again maybe I will start point at different numbers I don’t need to right now right now N hard’s Out playing him and gives them skills they need in the starting five especially
Next to tyres alurn so they finally started that group they played 16 minutes and 26 seconds 46 points plus 13 in 16 and a half minutes how about that yes they were playing the Hornets obvious caveats bound there but they finally went to it and I thought that
Was noteworthy and a again playing the Hornets we’ll see against real team soon but that seems like something they will stick with one healthy and not only did that group work nard didn’t make a shot like his actual shoot the ball offense wasn’t great but he only took threes in
This whole game he only took threes and the rest of the starting five really jelled obviously you can tell by those plus minus numbers but even individually they all played pretty well halton’s the starting point very this is like only I think this is funny because I’m a CBA
Dork but the minimum required minutes for it to count as one of the 65 games for Tyrese Halbert and his lmba quest is 20 he played 20 minutes and 17 seconds in this game I think Zack low said it perfectly on the low post I’m not saying that that they’re making decisions for
Halton’s minutes based on the 20 minute rule but I I I bet it came up in a meeting right like so anywh who he played he started after not starting against the Kings I thought that was weird he didn’t play in the fourth quarter but he didn’t need to they were
Up so much at times he was awesome six for eight from the field 17 points uh in this game so he played well in his minutes he looked fresh they didn’t need him for the fourth quarter I maintain that if they’re going to do it with this sort of minutes distribution and they
Can’t play him for all four quarters the first three is the way to go and hope you build up enough cushion to hold on and win like they did in this game or you figure out what other combinations and players are working so you can rely
On what you know is working in the fourth yes I understand the argument of you want him to close but that’s not possible with what they’re going with for his minutes plan right now and either way he was good in his 20 minutes and 17 seconds in this game nard despite
Not making a shot only had one turnover had three assists and defended quite well Bryce mcgowens who he was guarding a lot of the game did not make a shot uh ish Smith was one for three lots of the guards he ended up on had tough nights
Nick Nick Smith uh their first round pick rookie was one for eight I could go on and on and that’s what Andrew nard does Miles Turner double double 16 points 10 boards two assists plus 16 Aaron n Smith made his threes but in particular was just awesome I I’ve got
To do an Aon n Smith deep dive post trade deadline because he has been fan freaking tastic in the year 2024 228 and4 plus 19 he defended pretty well on Miles Bridges Brandon Miller had his way with some guys all night and then Pascal cakam to me his second best game as a
Pacer behind the Sixers game R had the triple double 25 points on 20 shots eight rebounds including three on the offensive end that were key to getting Second Chance laps and nine assists leading the team in assist in a game where they are moving the ball very well
2589 plus 30 and that is kind of what I’m referring to when I said you figure out who’s working and can work when you can’t have halberton for the fourth quarter when you structure his minutes this way and then in the fourth quarter let’s just hypothetically say exactly
What happened tonight happened where the Pacers are up 24 in the mid third and then the Hornets going a 140 run so early fourth quarter all of a sudden uhoh we’re only up 10 we thought we were going to cruise to Victory what do we do
To solve this problem now that the score is 9888 you immediately Sub in Pascal cakam who came in he actually came in when the Run was uh at 10 to zero at 11 to zero is when he actually came into the game and then he immediately hit a
Free throw and then he immediately scored a pitb layup like he that was significant to know they could turn to him that he would have value to their team that he could stop this run and make it so hey it’s 10-point lead just kidding we have Pascal seak on the floor
We’re good to go he was very very important in this game in stopping that run that was the last significant Hornets push they had one in the early third which was I mean the Pacers looked awful to start the third quarter that was their worst stretch of play all game
Once they stabilized from that they kicked the Hornets butts basically for the rest of the game and they were great all night defensively that starting lineup was good they found a new groove their bench unit was good enough we’ll talk about those guys in just a second
And in general a lot to like this is a G right win in every way it’s the Hornets they’re not very good the Pacers did lose to them even though they were healthy earlier in this season but it did because of the starting lineup change because of how bur’s minutes
Distribution because of the defensive nature on all non- Brandon Miller players on the Charlotte Hornets it did Supply a lot of like okay maybe this is stuff they can build on or look at and say Here’s how we can win going forward with the limitations that we have and of
Course the first win of the Indiana Pacers era where both Pascal seak and Tyrese halberton were active how about that it’s crazy that it took this long it’s February the trade was on I think January 17th or something but it finally happened and now they can try to stack
Them consecutively with an easier schedule hint that is what we’ll be talking about to close out Today’s Show plenty more to talk about from this game some bench performances uh lots of interesting little notes from throughout the game as the Pacers are now 28 and 23 before we
Talk about any of that stuff though this show is sponsored by betterhelp sometimes we all need the opportunity to get something off our chest big or small certain things can really start to get to you it’s important to let that out especially to someone who’s unbiased on your life so
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Team could do heading into the trade deadline jump on over to that shows locked on podcast their host will have plenty of great things for you I think I already told you to talk about the Rockets Grizzlies trade this weekend but if I didn’t or if you didn’t notice that
Go check out lock on Rockets or lock on grizley former Pacer olao on the move again also if you missed it and you’re here and wondering why aren you talking about the Kings game on Friday I already did because of a bonus weekend show talked Kings by myself and Tyrus
Halbert’s minutes restriction and then Philip Rossman Reich of lockdown magic and I talked about two ascending east teams little trade stuff lots of fun stuff about when to go for it as a growing team good conversation today we keep talking Charlotte Hornets Pacers win 28 and 23 now losing streak is over
Schedule’s lightening up Not only was the starting lineup good bench was good enough let’s be clear good enough the specific all five bench guys lineup in McConnell Mather and Smith top and heeled was minus six but a lot of mixing and matching groups did well in fact
That minus six group was by far the worst group for the Pacers they only had one other lineup That was minus five and it was the bench with Aaron nemith in uh instead of I can’t even read quick enough instead of mine so uh not awesome there but I something significant
Happened in this game beyond the line of changes and the bench doing well and that is for the first time since they’ve had hurn on this minute limit they had both of their point guards at full capacity right in the past this part of the struggle of
What they’ve been doing is they’d get to the fourth quarter they wouldn’t have hton and Andrew nard have to play the whole fourth quarter because T.J McConnell was sick or you know and then they played the Kings and nart had been burned out from playing 37 minutes three
Games in a row and like three and four nights so they played McConnell and started him they play n hard what six seconds in that game right they hadn’t had both so come fourth quarter time they were losing a lot of production there they finally had both this time
And they played 27 minutes of Andrew nard in 21 minutes that’s a full game worth of minutes for both those guys of point guards that weren’t tyres hurn right that’s important to be able to do that and it helped that the starting lineup was good but having McConnell
Back you know I still think he’s like a little sick but apparently he felt a lot better today they were talking about that in the broadcast he had four points six rebounds seven assists he did have a lot of turnovers which was uncharacteristic of him certainly but um
That was really needed right the fact that they had stable ball handling play all night is something that they’ve been lacking uh significantly really since uh this whole thing started right they had those guys played pretty well when halberton was totally out but since he returned from the injury and they’ve
Had him on this you know low 20 minutes plan it’s been really tough for them to kind of get this going especially when mad was out too they did not have enough ball handling now they have everybody back and you could really tell what kind
Of value that had mine had a weird game because his statline doesn’t look that good he was four for 12 from the field for 14 points but he his points were kind of significant and that the bench was not doing a good job scoring besides
Him and he got to the line a lot he had a third of the Pacers free throws he was actually pretty important and he finished plus three he’s been playing better of late I think uh jayd Smith again a significant game with his 10 points Off the Bench budy heal just got
Him make a shot at some point they be it’s more significant now to think about Buddy Hill’s minutes when they’re fully healthy because Ben Shepard did not play in the rotation of this game that was the consequence of them being fully healthy I get this might be an unpopular
Opinion amongst fans right now I would play buddy heeld over Ben Shepard in the fully healthy Pacers rotation but at some point he has to make shots or else that will not be reality for the Pacers and he was one for four in this game he
Made a three in the first half but he had two the first two threes he took he really took his time and thought about it and I thought man that is not how buddy hee shoots normally very surprising very surprising to see it like that so in general they had a lot
Of good performances amongst some weird stuff but the biggest takeaway from the Pacers specifically is here’s what fully healthy they can do to mitigate the the issues they have with the miniature restriction for halber that’s still the biggest story around the team right now because shakum looks more integrated to
Me right him and TJ McConnell had this really nice Connection in the second quarter where you could tell like okay they figured out like where siakam’s cut timing is and how to get him the ball in the best spots and who score over right you can tell recently he’s played 10
Games now they they’re figuring him out a bit right it’s helping Miles Turner it’s clearly helping Erin n Smith that’s working better but the they still couldn’t quite get all their lumps figured out and you know I have a quote in a recent story from Ben Maan about
You know like when halbert’s on this minutes restriction some guys have to be more aggressive at times and less aggressive at others and they have different lineups and they’re trying to accomplish different goals and like they have to do that because of this it’s only 14 weird minutes really per game
But Halburn slightly less effective he was really patient in this game he didn’t really get going till late in the second quarter and their lineups are all different and unique so that’s still the biggest story to me is how they kind of figure that out having all the resources
Available to do it all the extra guards being healthy their bench unit being whole that made it a lot easier like every lineup they had in the floor made sense right there wasn’t some and sometimes this is gimmicky and sometimes it’s effective but like there wasn’t
Seaka at the three in a big group or seaka at the five or like both point guards on the floor or no point guards on the floor like sometimes those have gone fine for the Pacers in the stretch but sometimes they haven’t you know oh we’re hoping Ben Shepard and Buddy heel
Can handle the ball enough in the fourth quarter today you know none of that now that they’re fully healthy that was a key takeway to me as well and we’ll see what that lasting impact can be when they play again more serious teams later this week but that was important I think
And to see that starting five do well while also having that there was never a lineup on the floor that I was like I need to immediately note this group was in there for this stretch like oh Halbert entered the game in the second quarter with two rookies right like that
Was pretty weird so they they had bad stretches in this game compared to their best but they were still like up 10 and in keeping the Hornets at arms length because of all that and their depth Advantage was back and it just made everything way easier so even with the
Bad start to the second half even with Brandon Miller going crazy he was amazing in the second half he can make me look dumb for having him fourth or fifth I can’t remember uh among the guys in this draft he’s been really great this year 30 points they still were able
To just crush the Hornets who are banged up and that’s what they needed Pascal sakam fantastic uh Andrew neard back in the starting five Tyrese halberton getting his minutes in the key takeaways for the Pacers and their defense got it done I think that’s the last thing to
Talk about here I alluded to it earlier allowing 99 is nuts they’ve only been under 110 allowed like six times this season and they got a team under a 100 Hornet shoot 39.8% from the field lowest of any Pacers opponent they only turned it over 10 times they got 11 offensive
Rebounds they took 25 free throws right a lot of stuff that says they should have had at least an okay offensive night but the Pacers contested shots and made them uncomfortable even if they had lots of chances 88 shot attempts for the Hornets and more free throws they did a
Pretty good job in The Possession battle against the Pacers in this game but the Pacers actually defended pretty well and were contesting and yes the Hornets aren’t that talented but they’ve been even recently with this level of banged up well over a 100 in many of their
Recent games so credit to the Pacers for holding them to 99 they scored 106 against the Hornets or against the Thunder excuse me on February 2nd 110 against the Bulls 122 against the Jazz you know one they beat that Carl Anthony towns 62-point game with 128 in late
January right they’ve had some nice scoring nights of late and the Pacers were able to slow them down so Pacers get it done new formula getting healthy we’ll see how long that lasts but this could be something for them to build off of with their many many successes in
This game we have to close this out with something that I would like to share with you that I think is important and that is perhaps the biggest reason to be optimistic about the Pacers for the rest of the season January’s done and they actually did pretty well 10 and seven in
January their schedule gets way easier now and I’ve been talking about this for a while but I’m finally going to break it down numerically and with words and data and and stuff to make make it make sense so let’s close out Today’s Show by talking about the biggest reason to be
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Second listen listen to lockon Hornets here about the loser side of this and Brandon Miller’s fantastic run of play recently spectacular over 20 points a ton I thought the key match up of this game was going to be Brandon Miller versus whoever started at two for the
Pacers uh and that proved to be right but not for the reason I thought it would he was spectacular no one else for the Hornets was uh let’s talk about the Pacers schedule for the rest of the season I’ve talked about the schedule twice this year and that is before two
Cushy parts that the Pacers needed to take advantage of one they did one they did not we’re going to do it again today and I have a way too many notes about this so let’s just Dive Right In they just played the Hornets right they played the Knicks in in their first game
Of uh February and that’s when their really like really tough stretch of schedule ended so after after that Kings game they lost Friday it’s Charlotte Houston Golden State then New York who’s tough then Charlotte Toronto Detroit Dallas Toronto to close out February for the Pacers and they also have San
Antonio Dallas Orlando Chicago Brooklyn like right after all that that gets you to like mid-march right so I could just read through that and you can go wow that sounds pretty easy let’s actually put some stuff to it let’s put some substance and numbers behind this so
Here here are some teams that the Pacers are done playing this season the Boston Celtics the best team in the NBA the Milwaukee Bucks the second best team in the East the Denver Nuggets the rainning Champs the Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant and Deon Booker the Philadelphia
76ers who maybe that’s not that good to not be playing them anymore they had to play Joel and beat twice but they beat them twice right that is great they’re done with all those tough teams and they have the fewest games left tied with a couple teams but still of any team in
The league at 31 most teams are like 33 to 34 right now tanon has this feature and we’ll talk about their actual strength of schedule in just a second but it lists your five toughest opponents for every team for the rest of the season you know every team’s got
Boston on there and like Minnesota and you know Oklahoma City the Pacers have OKC in Minnesota the Pacers fifth toughest opponent by win percentage right now for the rest of the season is the New Orleans Pelicans they’re the only team that has the Pelicans in their toughest five opponents left every no
One else has the Pelicans everybody else has five harder opponents by difficulty right that they’re the only team that has New Orleans there which is just bananas to think about and their easy opponents are still a plenty which we’ll talk about in a second right they have a
Done a lot a lot a lot of the hard parts of their schedule right they only play Miami one more time and it’s at home they only play Miami or excuse me Minnesota one more time it’s at home at New York it’s going to be tough for the
Pacers at Cleveland at OKC those are all tough for the Pacers all the rest of their games against the top five team in either conference are either done for the season or in gamebridge field house that alone everything I just said about the hard teams says a lot now let’s talk
About some of the easier side of things according to that tank ofon ranking I just have which again it’s just raw let’s flip let’s look at your opponents let’s see what their win percentage is that’s your strength to schedule for the rest of the season the Pacers combined
Win percentage of their opponents for the rest of the year is 47.5% that is the third EAS schedule for the rest of the season in the entire NBA right that is a reason for optimism done a lot of the hard stuff so let’s look at the teams outside the plan in each
Conference there’s 10 of those and this this this group does not account the Hawks who the Pacers play again at home and have they’ve done very well with the Hawks and it does not count the Lakers who are in the plan in the west but also are not particularly great this year um
And they play them twice so they have two home games of those three so the pat have two more against the Pistons who are terrible another one against Charlotte who are Terri terrible but beat the Pacers once this year they have three more against the Raptors who are
Now tanktastic compared to the first time they played the Raptors they have three more against the Nets who could be tanktastic depending on what their trade deadline looks like and are not a particularly good team they play the Spurs again they play Houston again and it’s at home both of their Warriors
Games have not happened yet and one of those will be at home Warriors could be tough Houston could be tough you know one of those Toronto or t or Brooklyn games could be tough whatever you can cut through all that L that’s 13 games I just described for the
Pacers two Detroit one Charlotte three Toronto three Brooklyn another Spurs another Houston two Warriors that’s 13 games if the Pacers win twoth thirds of those games which would probably be bad that’s nine wins in that stretch of 13 games it’s already nine more that already gets them to last year’s win
Total without accounting for any of the rest of their 22 games right so that is the reason for optimism for the Pacers the rest of the season is their schedule gets way easier all of a sudden starting really yesterday for you listening or today for me talking on Sunday against
The Hornets that was the start of cushy time the other way I could really describe this is the Pacers right now as of uh February 4th are 28 and 23 right they’re five games over 500 I ran through the schedule before the season and picked every game win and loss which
Helps you see a lot of stuff right one of the back Tob backs one of the difficult stretch when are the travel things all sorts of that if you listen every day you know how often I talk about this right and I predicted the Pacers would win 40 games this season
Right so I I thought by now they’d have 21 wins they actually have 28 seven more so if my prediction for their win totals for the rest of the season are correct the Pacers are going to win 47 games that’s how much easier the rest is I
Thought they’d be 21 and 30 right now and instead they’re 20 8 and 23 they’re obviously better than I thought I I’m obviously wrong about the team but if just that alone shows you how much easier this gets like their April schedule is laughable they have one hard
Game in all of April out of seven right and they have an easy rest of their February March can get a little rocky like there’s a stretch or two in there that’s like oh that’s kind of hard but in general the Pacers have to feel pretty good about getting through
January with a good record about rounding a little bit into form of late they found some solutions I’d say they were close in New York they were close in Boston yeah their record’s not great in they since this yakum trade but I think the schedule’s about to get easier
They’re five and six so I’m try this not so bad their schedule’s about to get easier they’re reworking guys into the lineup they’re getting healthier things are looking up for the Pacers there’s one downside to the schedule I haven’t said yet the thing that for the the the
Biggest storyline for the Pacers after the All-Star break I’ll probably talk about this close to the break is where is the standings in the East how it’s broken out right as it stands right now the top five in the East look uh pretty set to me right they they have separated
Themselves from the Pacers the 76ers have fallen to fifth they’re seven games out of first the Pacers are 10 and a half games out of first they’re in sixth right so the Pacers are three and a half games out of fifth the Pacers are four
And a half games ahead of ninth right so there’s clearly a tier the Pacers are in that’s outside the top five but above that yucky plan tier and it’s them Orlando and Miami who as it stands right now are all separated by a game and a
Half the magic have won three in a row and are half the game behind the Pacers so the biggest storyline non schedule for the Pacers right now for the rest of their season is can they hold Sixth and just be in the postseason and potentially have an easier first- round
Opponent can they avoid that seven eight playin game and all that that all can they avoid bosson in the first round right that’s all very important is getting into the playoffs obviously but particularly getting six so their easy schedule makes it sound great yay they have an advantage there well the team I
Said the P of the 28th easiest schedule remaining Orlando has the easiest schedule remaining they have two Pistons three Hornets one Spurs one Blazers and one Wizards left and the Heat have the fifth easiest remaining schedule they have three Pistons two wizards two Blazers and a Spurs game left so the
Pacers still have to take advantage of the schedule they can’t have any more of these losses and this is the elephant in the room they’ve already lost to the wizards they already lost to the Hornets they lost the Bulls when they stunk they lost to the Raptors they lost to Blazers
Twice they should not be given a pass because they have an easy schedule but it is a reason for optimism and it they need to take advantage of it because the Heat and the magic who have not made a significant upgrade trade like the Pacers did are right there and the
Pacers need to do everything they can to hold them off and get that succeed we’ll be covering all of it down the stretch here on the lockdown Pacers podcast it’s trade deadline week and I just went 30 minutes out talking about the trade deadline tomorrow that is a significant
Portion of what we’ll talk about Jimmy Cook from 107 the fan frequent guest one of the great people in any sports media will be joining us to talk about maybe standing Pat does that have value for the Pacers what should they do if they don’t want to stand Pat all sorts of
Stuff trade deadline related we’ll talk Rockets uh on Wednesday we’ll talk trade deadline Thursday and Friday uh so yeah lots of fun stuff coming there speaking of trade deadline Pacers chatter if you’re interested in hearing me talk which I’m assuming if you’re still listening you probably are I will be
Doing two live streams talking Pacers trades this week but not via this podcast they’ll be on the bleacher report app which is pretty cool I’m excited about it one of them will be Tuesday at noon uh talking ahead of the trade deadline the other will be Friday
At 12:30 pm after the trade deadline what happened what does it mean for free agency all sorts of that stuff I’ll share links on my Twitter feed uh where you can click and tap in live and there’s a chat features you can bother me and tell me what to talk about I’m
Really looking forward to it I haven’t done anything like that with video ever in my life uh and if you want to see that link or how you can hop in and listen to that it’s going to be on my Twitter feed tonyr East is the best
Place to find me and this podcast is on there too if you want to see what all the show topics are every single day at lockon Pacers is the handle there thank you all a ton for listening lots to talk about from the Hornets in the schedule
The rest of the week will be much more focused on trades with the deadline on Thursday at 3M hope you all had a great weekend hope you enjoyed Today’s Show and we will see you soon
The Indiana Pacers ended their losing streak on Sunday night by taking down the Charlotte Hornets on the road. Host Tony East breaks down the win, including the Pacers winning a game by giving up less than 100 points, the fully healthy Pacers with a new rotation, and more. He also discusses Indiana’s schedule finally easing up after some brutal stretches.
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17 Comments
Should the Pacers keep rolling with this starting lineup? I say yes!
Lets tell the story a little more accurately.
Pacers were up by 24. Hield hadnt played in the 3rd at all prior to that point. Enter Buddy Hield. Charlotte goes on 14-0 run and lead down to 10. Carlisle yanks out Hield. The lead almost immediately increased to 16.
Buddy was taken out in the 2nd quarter after 3 straight PJ Washington layups. Pacers had all the momentum and almost lost it in Buddy Hields minutes.
Go figure. Buddy doesnt start and only plays 14 points and the pacers hold a team under 100 and win by 16 on the road.
You can snicker and undermine the win all you want but any double digit road victory in the NBA is a good win. Especially when this same team won when Buddy Hield started earlier in the season.
I get it Charlotte didnt have Ball or Heyward but good teams beat the teams they are supposed to. Bench players usually play much better at home.
Pascal had a great all around game
Mathurin was 10/14 for 30 points against the Kings. Its almost impossible to win when your on a team with Buddy Hield starting and playing 30 minutes.
I would DEFINITELY play Sheppard over Buddy just because of his defense. Buddy missing wide open 3s. Almost all his 3s against the knicks were wide open shots.
Hes literally the worst player in the NBA. Id even take Chris Duarte over Buddy Hield. Id take Oshae Brisset over Buddy.
Id literally take any player in the NBA over Buddy Hield
buddy h. was mad tonight, i think the end is near. he's ticked for being taken out.
Any lineup without Hield will have an improved defense.
I think Buddy wants to go somewhere where he is appreciated. No way at this point that buddy will be here in 2 weeks
buddy wants paid, he was mad someone told me
Monitoring Buddy Hield, he’s struggling and seen something that said he left the bench early after being taken out. Trade deadline in 3 days.
Pacers should focus on establishing a long win streak through the easier schedule in order to secure 6th or possibly 5th
Good win, so what. I'm not going to believe in this roster until we beat Orlando in a physical matchup. We do that, then I'll believe we have a chance to do something meaningful in playoffs. These regular season games should be kept in context. W-L standings mean nothing come playoff time if you can't be consistent at both ends of the court. And no one cares if you win 50 games but stink in first round. If you have to worry about rebounding this far along in the season, you're way behind the rest of the pack who are probably just tinkering on the fringes preparing for the playoffs who view fundamentals like rebounding as a strength they'll have to rely on, not a death sentence weakness.
26:40 Nets look much better with Simmons back in the lineup. I would expect a tank and they should be tougher than their record.
The Charlotte hornets announcers were talking about the requirement of minimal games played for Superstars. Then they kind of changed their tone. Almost like they were asked to correct their conversation. Haha
I think you’re off with that 6th place take. The 76ers are going to keep free falling so the 5th seed is taking candy from Embid’s babies for all 3 teams. The Knicks will start to come back to this pack too, so I think it’ll be tough for them to stay in the top 6 too. If the Pacers stay ahead of the Heat and Magic they’ll be in 4th place at the very least. Bucks aren’t playing good ball right now and if this keeps up for a couple of weeks they can fall back to the pack too. I’m not saying they will but I wouldn’t be stunned if they did. The Knicks played the best game they could have possibly played on Thursday and barely came back at the end to win, while the Pacers played one of their worst games of the season. That’s not gonna happen Saturday. The Knicks certainly CAN win that game but it’s not probable.
Beat the teams that you are supposed to win decisively.. When you put the ball in Siakam hands just like Haliburton on offense, then good decisions are made for the entire team… They both have gravity to create open shots for everyone.. Keep working on team defense in preparation for playoffs…
lol. I know theses Knicks. I’ve lived here my entire life so I know every version of the Knicks since the 80’s. I was at the game Thursday. Knicks fans couldn’t get Randle out of town fast enough, now they’re getting ready to use his injury as an excuse. I’ll be there Saturday night, we’ll see if I know them.
Not playing Haliburton in the 4th is crazy!!! You can get away with it playing the Hornets…but not most of the teams in the NBA!!! 👀