It has not been easy for the Indiana Pacers. They are slowly slipping down the Eastern Conference standings because of consecutive losses to the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trail Blazers. In their last loss, they also had to battle it out against Nikola Jokic without Tyrese Haliburton. Moreover, Rick Carlisle also got ejected in the narrow defeat which could be a factor. Nonetheless, Pascal Siakam strongly believes in the power this team holds amid their slump, via Tony East of Sports Illustrated.

“We have an opportunity to be special,” Pascal Siakam declared.

The new Pacers forward has not had enough to take in the schemes on both ends of the floor. He often takes time and stalls whenever there are unfamiliar plays that they are running. Moreover, it also does not help that their floor general, Tyrese Haliburton, has not been with them to fully orchestrate the Pacers' offense.

Siakam is still producing numbers for the Pacers despite these challenges. On 33 minutes of action against the Nuggets, he notched 16 points along with four assists. 10 rebounds also helped round out his double-double performance. Shooting with a 43.8% clip on all three levels of scoring despite these schematic challenges means that the Pacers' woes might just get better with time.

The Pacers' narrow loss to the Nuggets

Rick Carlisle and Tyrese Haliburton alongside Pascal Siakam in his Pacers jersey

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It was very evident that the Nuggets were beatable in this matchup. Nikola Jokic's squad had given up 60 points in the paint and also turned the ball over 10 times. The problem was the Pacers were also committing huge mistakes. Siakam's squad also had 10 turnovers which means their ball security could be improved some more. Shot selection was also an issue as the Nuggets blocked their shot nine times. When they were trying to score from the three-point area, nothing was working. The Pacers only knocked down five out of their 21 attempts from far out.

There was no answer to Jokic's dominance in all facets of the game. The big man recorded 31 points and 13 rebounds. More than that, whenever Rick Carlisle was not getting ejected, the Pacers would call to pressure him with multiple defenders. There the elite passer came out which got the Nuggets star 10 assists.

Jamal Murray also buried the Pacers with 31 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds of his own. It was a tough loss but it is not something that they cannot come back from.