Well, we’re just about a month into the season, so let’s take a look at some of the big numbers that tell some of the stories of the year thus far.

6 – 8

Just as in the preseason, their winning percentage is pointing them towards 35 wins. However, they’ve been wildly inconsistent, and it’s next to impossible to use this as a strong indicator one way or the other.

.337

The combined winning percentage of the 6 teams the Pacers have defeated. Only Boston, at 12-4, has a winning record. The other five are a combined 20-59, or .253.

1-5

Pacers’ record vs. winning teams this season. The losses have been by a combined 73 points, almost 15 points a game.

.444

The Pacers’ record at home (4-5). They’ve played 9 of their first 14 games at home and couldn’t even go .500. Worse, they’ve been utterly dominated in three of those losses: Miami, Denver and Dallas.

100.6, 114.5

The Pacers offensive output per 100 possessions was horrendous in their losses at barely over a point per. Defensively, they were just as bad, posting a Defensive Rating that would rank 29th in the league.

5.0

After a summer emphasizing defense, the Pacers have improved their overall Defensive Rating by 5 full points, from 109.2 to 104.2.  Unfortunately…

-6.5

Their offensive output has dropped precipitously from 108.1 to 101.6 this year. Friday night’s debacle vs. Dallas marked the sixth time this season the Pacers have failed to score a point per possession. It only happened 12 times all of last year.

22 & 20

The limitations on minutes for rookie Buckaroo Banzai and returning wingman Mike Dunleavy. These, along with injuries to Troy Murphy and Danny Granger, only prolong the amount of time it will take for these players to get acclimated to each other, and for O’Brien to figure out a steady rotation.

9.0, 72.3%

Danny is averaging 9.0 attempts from beyond the arc this season. No NBA player has averaged that many since…well…ever. Only 6 players in NBA history have averaged more than 8. Worse, 72.3% of his shots are coming from 16 feet and out (including 3s). His eFG% is a pretty poor .486 on those shots. C’mon, Danny.

29th, 4th

Fewer than 28% of the Pacers’ shots are coming at the rim, ranking 29th in the league. Meanwhile, they are 4th in percentage of shots taken outside of 15 feet. Almost 53% of their attempts are coming from the perimeter.

1-7, 5-1

The Pacers are 1-7 in games where Troy Murphy played. They are 5-1 in games where he was absent. This may or may not be a huge indictment of T-Murda, but you can’t look at those numbers without considering these numbers:

.595, .298

The eight teams that the Pacers faced with Murphy are a combined 78-53. The six teams that the Pacers faced without Murphy have totaled 28 wins against 66 losses.

3rd, 24th

The Pacers allow opponents only a .473 eFG%, which is good for third in the league. Unfortunately, they, themselves, only manage a 24th best .475 eFG%.

7 of 8

Of the eight losses the Pacers have suffered this season, seven of them have been by double digits. They were competitive up until the fourth quarter in two of them (Atlanta & Cleveland), but the others have just been debacles. They only lost 15 games last season by double digits.

131,587

Reported attendance for the Pacers first ten home games. It’s been a mix of large crowds (Miami, Boston, Cleveland and Dallas), and very, very sparse crowds. Unfortunately, the crowd only left happy in the Boston game. If the product doesn’t get better, many of the games later this season will be accurately described as “intimate gatherings.”

16.7, 8.0, 4.7

Though on a minute limitation, Tyler Hansbrough has been relatively productive in his first 9 games. He’s averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in just under 17 minutes. His aggressiveness has earned him almost 9 FTAs per 36 minutes (unheard of for a rookie), and the loving moniker of “Buckaroo Banzai” around these parts.

I realize the Pacers are operating under tight fiscal restraints, but surely they could find something better than the offensive weapons they’ve brandished this season.