Last season, the Indiana Pacers had a memorable campaign, but for all the wrong reasons. After clearly cementing themselves as a perennial playoff team in the league, the team faltered due to injuries and peculiar off-court hurdles, headlined by the turbulent reign of then-coach Nate Bjorkgren who was fired after only one season, a feat almost unheard of in the NBA.
However, despite bannering a worn-down and patchwork roster due to injuries, the Pacers still managed to eke out a play-in spot. While they ultimately failed to qualify for the playoffs, the Blue and Gold, if and when healthy, has no shortage of talent at all positions and should safely be back in the postseason mix.
The Indiana Pacers’ numbers must improve in 2021-22
That being said, basketball is still a game of numbers. While these are not the sole determinants of success, they pretty much serve as guideposts which every club can use to gauge what their strong and weak points are.
Not surprisingly, while Indiana had some improvements last season, most of its placements in statistical categories went down a notch or two compared to the previous year. Thus, as they attempt to wage a better fight in the much-fortified Eastern Conference and the association in general, these numbers must improve in the 2021-22 season.
Indiana Pacers stats that must improve: Rebound Percentage
Almost a yearly tradition, on the margins of a patented weak point, the Indiana Pacers remained one of the league’s worst rebounding teams last season. With a 47.6 rebound percentage, good for 29th in the association, only topping the small-ball, guard-heavy assemblage in Houston, the team struggled almost on a nightly basis on the battle of the boards.
While the Pacers have Domantas Sabonis, one of the league’s best overall rebounders in the past two seasons, the team doesn’t have a steady crop of tenacious rebounders to supplement the All-Star. Myles Turner, the team’s starting center, normed a below-average 6.6 rebounds per game.
On the secondary, Indiana’s guards are big enough to outmuscle their counterparts, but it is largely futile if the primary option to corral rebounds struggle to secure the rock. One of the most overlooked aspects in this regard is snatching boards off blocks. With the Pacers ranking first last season in blocks per game, sharpening the team’s instinct in securing loose balls should augment their rebounding.
Luckily, the team’s additions in Isaiah Jackson, a springy big man, and Torrey Craig, a tenacious rebounding wing, should be a boost in that department. If Domas retains his elite status as a rebounder and Turner improves his numbers on the boards, this should be a very viable point of improvement, especially with this stat also resulting in the Pacers giving up the most second-chance points per game last season.
Indiana Pacers stats that must improve: Opponent Points in the Paint
The boldest manifestation of the Indiana Pacers’ drastic decline on defense last season was their general lack of acuity in preventing points in the paint. In the 2020-21 campaign, the team finished dead last in this defensive department, allowing a whopping 53.8 points in the paint per game.
In the preceding two seasons, Indy was rock-solid on this department, peaking at fourth in the league in 2018-19 while remaining respectable at 14th in 2019-20. However, despite having a menacing rim protector in Turner, their help defense and coverage has been virtually non-existent last season.
With Turner missing a lot of time due to injury, the Pacers were coerced into forcing Sabonis into the rim protecting role, which he evidently struggled at. Since Bjorkgren’s ultra-aggressive defensive schemes and up-tempo offense prompted a lot of distance travelled, the team was usually sapped of its energy, and rotating over to alter shots in the paint has been expectedly difficult. Poor rebounding also exacerbated things.
As coach Rick Carlisle pivots to simpler defensive coverages, the Pacers should be fundamentally better and sounder on defense this season, especially in the paint. If Myles manages to avoid the relentless injury bug, Indiana should be able to prove that last season’s mediocre defense was an aberration.
Indiana Pacers stats that must improve: Play in Clutch Situations
The Indiana Pacers were middle of the pack in clutch situations last season, tallying a 20-20 win-loss card in such games. Still, that deadlock is more bitter than it seems. After all, you cannot probably count on one hand the winnable games that the team lost due to clumsy play in tense situations.
In the tightly-knitted situation in the Eastern Conference due to its across the board improvement, every game matters, especially with playoff positioning getting higher priority in the subsistence of the play-in tournament. Thus, if Indiana wants to separate itself from the pack (on a positive note, of course), then the team will have to thoroughly improve how it composes itself on clutch time.
One specific area is avoiding turnovers at this juncture of the game. Last season, the Pacers racked 1.3 turnovers per game in the clutch, a mark good for 28th in the league. Indiana also gave up the sixth-most rebounds in these situations per contest, a figure that needs an urgent improvement to secure wins, even if ugly and gutsy.
Ultimately, how the Indiana Pacers pace themselves to trump these uninspiring numbers should boost their chances in the 2021-22 season. While it won’t be easy, one thing’s for sure: all of these can be controlled by them.