The Indiana Pacers are now in the play-in race after an abysmal February run. Coach Rick Carlisle could not replicate the momentum of his heliocentric offense after the NBA All-Star break. Now, the Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin-led squad has a lot of catching up to do if they want to get homecourt advantage come the postseason or even just notch a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. Although, a glaring statistic may have just exposed their problems.

The Pacers lead the league in losses against teams that have a winning percentage below 30%, per Tony East of Sports Illustrated. The Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, and San Antonio Spurs comprise those teams who have not gotten into any sort of groove to improve their record.

Rick Carlisle's squad has lost to that group of teams five times this season. This may prove how inexperienced the team is, how their defensive lapses are very exploitable, and how their offense tends to be volatile a lot of the time. The Pacers have a 1.2 net rating which is good for 13th in the league but that is not the whole story. Their defense which amounts to a rating of 118.9 is ranked in the bottom five of the league. Only the Pistons, Hornets, Hawks, and Wizards have worse ratings.

Pacers flame out in the middle of the season

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle talks with guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in the second quarter against the New York Knicks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

© Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
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Moreover, the generational offense that they are running might take a nosedive as the season comes to a close. The Pacers currently boast a 120.1 offensive rating. But, Tyrese Haliburton does not look the same after the injury and NBA All-Star weekend. He only churns in 14.7 points on a 44.8% clip from all three levels now. This is a far cry from when he averaged 24.2 points while knocking down 49.6% of his shots.

The Pacers also needed his production as a floor general to go up. Instead, his average of 12.7 assists per contest significantly dropped to 8.6 dimes on a nightly basis. To make matters worse, he also went scoreless in their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans despite playing 23 minutes. Will other players like Bennedict Mathurin or even TJ McConnell step up to lead the Pacers