How are we worse than last year?

[Guest]

well we got better but many other teams added even more. Just take a look on standings. on east from place 1 to 13 max gap in wins is 3 on west except from 4 to place gap is 1-2 wins. Its insane and we are in middle of this season already.

Main problem is that this team dont have face anymore. Average on offense, average on defense, average on shooting, average on rebounds and so on. If defense became better offense became worse. Sometimes i dont like defense but i understand that we have a lot players that are just bad on it. While on offense we have weapons but we often just dont have patient or will to use it. Offense looks so messy and now we dont even have a NBA level PG. I already lost hope that this new Rick offense gonna work. On the other hand we are still on positive net.. somehow.. so with a bit of luck we can get into play-in just to swept there. Except some miracles gonna happen like: Levert will start using brains, Myles become consistent, Sabonis will start hitting from outside. But again we need all these miracles to happen same time to reach something this year..

Or do real trades like Sabonis for Brunson, Smith and Kleber. Brunson really showing himself atm. In last 10 games when he became a starter he averages 21pts/g, 7.4 ast, 3.5/1 ast/tov ratio, 51% from field, team won 5 of 10 since then. In general team really do not look worse without Doncic. Smith would be great improvement at SF compare with Holiday. And i see this as really possible deal. Brunson is on his last year Dallas would want to keep him i am sure but they cant offer starting role for him. We can and he is young i am sure he wants to be starter.

[pacers_heath]

As some others have stated, it’s not that we have gotten worse, it’s that most other teams have gotten better.

So the NBA is significantly more talented than last year? I don't buy it.

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[Guest]

So the NBA is significantly more talented than last year? I don't buy it.

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Teams in the east. There was already a decent gap between Nets and Bucks to everyone else. Now it’s Bucks, Nets, Heat, Bulls then everyone else. The Cavs took a nice jump too. We didn’t make the playoffs last year and have basically the same team and expected different results

[pacers_heath]

Teams in the east. There was already a decent gap between Nets and Bucks to everyone else. Now it’s Bucks, Nets, Heat, Bulls then everyone else. The Cavs took a nice jump too. We didn’t make the playoffs last year and have basically the same team and expected different results

We just got Lance though, so...

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[Unclebuck]

This might be the most unlucky pacers team I’ve ever seen. I realize losing close games is a sign of being a bad team. But not this bad in the clutch. Some of it is bad luck. And then it feeds on itself and carries over to the next close game

2 minutes report for Bills game. 4 bad calls went against the pacers.

[RamBo_Lamar]

Maybe we need to bring back Greg Foster!

[eldubious]

The Pacers are worse because of poor drafting by KP. Mainly, Goga and Leaf. Those moves add to lack of talent and assets to make effective moves. Another understatement is not re-signing Dan Burke. The defense has been worse every since. Now, we have a bunch of average guys who don’t play hard, together, or efficient. The best thing they can do is blow it up for the right guys and hit in the draft. Although, KP hasn’t shown he his strong in drafting.

[Trader Joe]

I think the Pacers did get worse and also mainly just started to not like playing with each other and it tracks back to last year

1.) The team starts 8-4 before the Oladipo trade becomes official. The team has to absorb the mental hit of Oladipo leaving and the replacement (Levert) being diagnosed with a tumor. Help was not actually on the way. Say what you want about Oladipo, but the team responded to his energy even if he had become a diva who wanted out. We have lacked that leadership and energy since then.

2.) From there the team would dip to 17-22 on March 17th, losing 18 of their next 27 games. That 9-18 record is actually worse winning percentage (.333) than we have right now at 14-23 (.378). Everyone attributed to things like injuries, etc, but something was clearly not right with the team then. I wrote a post at the end of January saying the Pacers needed a players' only meeting and was mostly mocked by everyone on the board. But I was right, the team's body language never improved from there.

3.) While this was going on, Levert did return to the team on March 13th @Phoenix famously being told by Bjorkgren with no warning the day of the game that not only would he play, but he would be starting. After 3 games as Levert worked in, the team experienced what I would describe as a dead cat bounce, as they won 4 of 5 after dropping to 17-22. Giving some hope that maybe Levert was that missing piece especially once Warren returns! (LOL)

4.) Unsurprisingly though to anyone who had been paying attention since end of January, the cat was dead, the Pacers lost 3 straight after that 4 of 5 stretch and have essentially been that team ever since. Their final record after starting 8-4? 34-38, meaning they went 26-34 the rest of the way. That's a 43% winning % so it's better than this year, but only slightly. Which leads me to my final point

5.) Not only did the East potentially get a little better, but the Pacers got meaningfully worse. They let their best shooter and arguably their best off ball athlete walk for nothing as Doug McDermott went to San Antonio. Now Doug's not a star, not an all star, not even really a starting NBA player, but he gave this Pacers roster something they don't really have much of, a smart offensive player who is deadly if left open or coming around a screen. They also moved Aaron Holiday, which I know he's a bit of a polarizing figure here on PD, but Aaron was/is an NBA level athlete something the Pacers frankly have pretty much 1 or 2 of right now. Again Holiday isn't a world beater, but he was a decent on ball defender on the perimeter and he could actually knock down an open shot. Right now he has a better FG% than any guard on the Pacers. Finally, Edmond Sumner was lost as well. An important piece simply because he was an athlete on a team that desperatley, desperatley needed them. Duarte could have solved some of these issues, but frankly hasn't been consistent enough to do so yet.

So there you have it, nothing that's happened this season should be shocking.

[Eleazar]

Pritchard choosing Holiday over McDermott may be his dumbest move as GM. In a 3-point driven league, let's give up a chance to keep one of the best 3pt shooters in the league for a career journeyman who had a fluke season. Holiday's defense has never been good enough to justify re-signing him when you know there was a good chance it would cost us the ability to re-sign McDermott. One of the reasons why we struggle to beat the Heat with all of their stars out is because they have like 3 McDermott like players who are just lights out from 3. Pretty much all of the good teams have such a player, we used to, but not anymore due to our own incompetence.

I mean sure, they are both just role players, but one fills a role that in today's NBA is much more effective.

[D-BONE]

Ain't the coach, it's the players. Has been for the last 3 coaches. The *****ing and moaning started in earnest in the run up to Nate 1's firing. I think a lot more of last year's tension than met the eye at the time was the team cohesion starting to fray and break down under the strain of realizing that - as a group - their realistic ceiling was mediocre, and more probably they'd come in closer to their floor than their ceiling.

So as much or more about this player grouping than Bjorkgren shouldering all the responsibility. And here we are again with same core, same results. So, yes to Trader Joe's premise, where we are now shouldn't be particularly surprising, whether NM, NB, RC, Lloyd Pierce, or whoever.

[Pacergeek]

This might be the most unlucky pacers team I’ve ever seen. I realize losing close games is a sign of being a bad team. But not this bad in the clutch. Some of it is bad luck. And then it feeds on itself and carries over to the next close game

2 minutes report for Bills game. 4 bad calls went against the pacers.

Pacers aren't losing because of bad luck. They are losing because they don't have any talent. Our roster is one of the worst in the NBA, and we aren't trying to tank. It's quite embarrassing.

[CableKC]

Pritchard choosing Holiday over McDermott may be his dumbest move as GM. In a 3-point driven league, let's give up a chance to keep one of the best 3pt shooters in the league for a career journeyman who had a fluke season. Holiday's defense has never been good enough to justify re-signing him when you know there was a good chance it would cost us the ability to re-sign McDermott. One of the reasons why we struggle to beat the Heat with all of their stars out is because they have like 3 McDermott like players who are just lights out from 3. Pretty much all of the good teams have such a player, we used to, but not anymore due to our own incompetence.

I mean sure, they are both just role players, but one fills a role that in today's NBA is much more effective.

Didn’t the Pacers choose TJM over McDermott?

[vnzla81]

Pacers aren't losing because of bad luck. They are losing because they don't have any talent. Our roster is one of the worst in the NBA, and we aren't trying to tank. It's quite embarrassing.

I actually disagree with a lot of people around here, the talent is there, the cook is the problem.

[Eleazar]

Didn’t the Pacers choose TJM over McDermott?

Yes, and no. This was a choice forced upon the team last offseason due to the re-signing of Holiday the previous offseason. It put the team in a position of re-signing McDermott and having 4 SG/SFs with no money left over to sign a decent backup PG, or re-sign the only decent PG on the team. I personally would have chosen McDermott still, but I understand why someone would make the choice of McConnell. My point is, though, this was a choice that didn't need to happen. It only happened due to poor foresight and personnel decisions from previous seasons. I'm complaining about not retaining McDermott due to Holiday, but if the team picked McDermott I would be complaining about the team not being able to re-sign McConnell due to Holiday.

[D-BONE]

I actually disagree with a lot of people around here, the talent is there, the cook is the problem.

Well if that's the case, you wouldn't be advocating a tank, but rather a coaching change alone that would transform this core into a contender. Before answering, please note in the quoted post you said "the talent is there".