Tuesday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls was the nail in the coffin for the Indiana Pacers. Indiana hung around in the first quarter and looked capable of pulling out a win before falling off in the final three quarters. To make matters even worse for an already-hobbled Pacers team, Myles Turner left the game with an ankle injury.
Bjorkgren says Turner sprained his ankle "pretty good," they did take an X-Ray and it was negative.
— Pat Boylan (@PatBoylanPacers) April 7, 2021
The Pacers are already down several key players and Turner was the last of the opening night starters to be in the lineup. His injury comes just days after Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis went down with no set date to return.
However you slice it, the Indiana Pacers are bad
There is no word on Turner’s injury either, which leaves the Pacers in a worse spot than they could have ever imagined. With T.J. Warren out for the season, Victor Oladipo traded, and the final three starters out with injury, there is nowhere to go but down for the Pacers.
Injuries are nothing new to the Pacers and they should not take the sole blame for Indiana’s struggles. I can agree that they have hindered their performance, which they always will do, but the rest of the roster just hasn’t picked up the slack when guys go down. Now, with a nearly full second unit in the starting rotation, things are not going to get any better.
The Pacers have been dominated in far too many games this season, including Tuesday’s matchup with Chicago. Against the top teams in the NBA and in games that matter, the Pacers not only come up short, they often don’t even show up at all.
Blowout losses, underwhelming performances from their best players, and a poor record make out to an overall bad season from the Indiana Pacers. Tanking may not be the answer because it goes beyond just losing games but the Pacers may want to start looking ahead to a fresh start next season.
This current roster might not have much time remaining together and while that is upsetting on some levels, it is just part of the business. The young players need to get some run to show if they fit the plans for next season as well.
The next few months should be really telling about the Pacers and how the front office views their future.