Indiana Pacers: 5 Lessons from loss to Detroit Pistons

Need to improve communication.

In any team sport, defense relies on cohesion and an aspect of that is communication. The inclusion of new faces has created a lack of continuity as the season got off to a start. It was evident in pick-and-roll situations that the Pacers aren’t where they need to be from a communication standpoint.

Piston Luke Kennard took advantage of the Pacers’ lack of communication by exploiting his matchups on the perimeter. Andre Drummond also took advantage of the lack of help defense by the Pacers which boiled down to talking things through on that side of the floor.

The communication between the Pacers will improve over time, especially as the team gets to know one another better on a personal level. However, the team should look to curtail the issue sooner rather than later.