8p9s Roundtable: Concerns for the Indiana Pacers at the Halfway Point

The Indiana Pacers have been making a habit of losing double-digit leads — and games — prompting plenty of questions about what exactly is wrong with the team.

Several patterns have emerged in the Pacers play, prompting several concerns as we near the midway point of the season. Gone are the blowouts and easy wins, and in their place are losing efforts and blown leads, and ultimately, more losses than Indiana should tolerate.

After starting with an 11-5 record, the Indiana Pacers have struggled since with an 11-14 stretch since December 1st and a 22-19 record on the season.

The Indiana Pacers let another game get away from them vs the Celtics last week. Is this a real problem or a growing pain for a team that was expected to struggle more this season?

Editor’s Note: The Pacers let it happen again on Sunday, this time against the Denver Nuggets.

Jared Wade: Real problem. Psychology is a funny thing. It probably wasn’t a real issue even after the first few collapses. Those things just do happen in the way that if you roll a die a thousand times then there will an instance of 4 coming up seven straight times. Math is weird. However, the Celtics game felt like a “here we go again” breakdown and you can tell it is now in their heads. The subsequent no-show against the Wizards, at home in front of Friday night crowd, seemed to reflect this crisis of confidence. They should get through it, but, yeah, it’s a thing.

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Will Furr: Yes. It is both. It’s a real problem, but it’s not a surprising problem given the amount of change this team has experienced. Frank Vogel has to figure out what guys he wants to close with, both with big and small lineups, then those guys have to get used to playing together when the heat is turned up. Execution, both on offense and defense, requires guys to be able to trust each other and know where everyone will be at any given time. The Pacers aren’t there yet.

Tim Donahue: As much as I would like to think it’s the sign of a team on the verge of breaking through, I believe the opposite. These wasted opportunities will hurt in any situation. When coupled with home losses to teams like Sacramento and Milwaukee, they’re a sign of a real problem.

Ryan Barth: It’s hard for a team to develop a closing mentality. Either you have it or you don’t, and the Pacers have shown time and again this season they are incapable of putting teams away. Frank Vogel recently laid out the reasons these games are slipping away, one game it was turnovers, another was missed free throws and on and on we go. The most troubling thing as a fan is watching this team play hard enough to get these leads late in games knowing it’s just a matter of time before they give it all back in a few minutes of panic and indecisiveness.

Jon Washburn: I think it’s both. It’s definitely a real problem. Including last night’s meltdown in Denver, the Pacers have given away no less than six games on the road this year in which they led late. They could be in the driver’s seat for the 2-seed, and yet here they are, fighting just to stay in the playoff race. Still, we’re talking about a team that lost a lot of leadership and continuity over the offseason. As good as Paul George is, he still missed all of last year and he’s never held this role on an NBA team. He’s 25. His team has struggled. It’s frustrating to be sure, but the entire scenario was probably for more likely than November made us believe.

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