The Indiana Pacers have had a less-than-stellar start to the 2019-20 season. As a matter of fact, they have been downright awful, logging three straight losses to open the new campaign. To make things even worse, it's not as if the Pacers have had the most challenging of schedules thus far.
On Wednesday, the Pacers opened their season at home against the Blake Griffin-less Detroit Pistons, with Andre Drummond torching them for a monster 32-point, 23-rebound double-double. This was followed by an unexpected defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, 110-99. On Monday, Indiana went to Detroit for a rematch against the Pistons and lost in the final moments, 96-94.
The season is by no means a foregone conclusion at this point, but one thing is clear: some changes need to be made within the team in order to quickly address the growing concern at hand. Below, we present three potential quick fixes the Pacers can implement in order to give themselves a better shot at notching their first win of the season.
For starters, Indiana definitely needs to get a spark from its bench. On Wednesday against the Pistons, their starters combined for 76 out of the team's 94 points, with the bench accounting for just 18 points in total. Something's got to give, and perhaps a guy like Aaron Holiday might be able to serve as the X-factor in the second unit. T.J. McConnell has been pedestrian, at best, and perhaps giving a more offensive-minded player like Holiday a bigger chance might be key, though he was admittedly awful in the season opener.
Secondly, the team will need to recognize the importance of Malcolm Brogdon. Indiana's big-money summer signing has been solid to start the season, averaging 22.3 points (on 45.8 percent shooting), 4.3 rebounds, and 10.7 assists while also connecting on 2.3 3-pointers per contest on a 43.8 percent clip (though he missed three crucial triples down the stretch vs. Detroit).
The 26-year-old has been the Pacers' best addition thus far, and it would be counterproductive if head coach Nate McMillan decides to reduce the former Rookie of the Year's usage rate at this point. In fact, Indiana could probably stand to see Brogdon shoot a little more, at least from 3-point range given his normal prowess. The Pacers are currently last in 3-point attempts per game.
Finally, the Pacers need to stay calm. They're off to a poor start, but it's not as if they're currently in a very deep hole. The season has just started and there's a lot of time to catch up. Victor Oladipo will hopefully be back by December, so the team will just need to hold the fort until then. There are a lot of new faces, so the club is still building chemistry as it awaits Oladipo's return.
Indiana is slated to face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday to end a three-game road trip. This should present the Pacers with a great opportunity to log their first win of the season. It's not going to be easy, but it's definitely doable.
Indiana finished fifth overall in the Eastern Conference last season despite Oladipo missing almost half the campaign. The Pacers are widely considered to be a playoff team once again this year, and they should get better as the season goes on.
Follow Us
Subscribe