After bricking their way to a late collapse against the Knicks, the Indiana Pacers’ offensive slump continued against the Detroit Pistons, losing to an inarguably inferior club in a tight contest, pulling them down to 6-10 on the season as they fall to 0-2 in their three-game road trip.
The Indiana Pacers’ shooting struggles persisted against the Detroit Pistons
Both the Pacers and the Pistons had subpar shooting performances on the night, with the former hitting just 41.8 percent of their shots and 24.3 percent of their triples and the latter not faring any better, shooting 42.5 percent overall, including 28.6 percent from downtown.
Detroit got the upper hand in the first half, winning the slugfest at that point by eight before Indiana roared back in the third to wage a deadlock at 73-all. The Pacers began the fourth by scoring the first six points of the period, but managed to produce just 10 points the rest of the way, while the Pistons caught fire late and Indy simply didn’t have any rhythm to bank on to cut the deficit.
Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 19 points, while Caris LeVert, despite another off-night, finished with 18 markers. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant’s 19 and ex-Pacer Cory Joseph’s 18 spearheaded the Pistons. First overall pick Cade Cunningham, who played in his ninth career game, shot the ball poorly, but still ended up with 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Both teams were plagued by turnovers, with Indiana tallying 18 of their own and Detroit coughing the ball up 20 times. The Pacers racked up just 14 assists on the night, easily their lowest so far this season. This contest marks only the second time where they turned the ball over more than they assisted on field goals.
Before the Indiana Pacers head to Charlotte for the finale of their three-game roadie, here are player grades from their deflating loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Malcolm Brogdon did the heavy lifting once again for the Indiana Pacers
Well, I’m not too resolute on giving the Game MVP nod to anyone given how bad the Indiana Pacers played, particularly on offense, but Malcolm Brogdon was the primary reason why the team managed not to lose in an uglier fashion.
Jumping out of the stat sheet with a +11 net rating, the second-highest among both teams behind Joseph, Brogdon did the heavy lifting for Indy, finishing the contest with a game-high 20 points, including five boards, and four assists while playing impressive one-on-one defense against Cunningham all night long.
Malcolm was hit-and-miss from behind the arc, cashing in on just three of his nine tries, but still shot the ball relatively well, shooting 47.1 percent overall. However, his five turnovers led both teams, contributing a chunk of the Pacers’ messy ball handling against the Pistons’ D.
While Brogdon was the alpha for the Blue and Gold once again, he has to conduct the ball more efficiently and avoid pushing the traffic too much while remaining forceful and imposing on offense, especially against other guards. Also, I would like to see him feed the post more and recognize mismatches early, which are largely necessary gambles.
Malcolm Brogdon: B+
Player grades for the Indiana Pacers starters against the Pistons
Caris LeVert: B-
Caris finished with 18 markers, second-most on the team, but continued to struggle overall, converting on just seven of his 18 attempts from the field, including three out of 10 three-point tries. Aside from his third quarter outburst and makes from rainbow country late in the fourth that kept the Pacers in the game, he was a negative factor against Detroit.
Domantas Sabonis: C+
I said before the game that the Indiana Pacers have to maximize their advantage in the post against the Pistons. Not only did they got outscored in the paint, but Domantas Sabonis, their best post scorer, attempted just seven shots. It’s hard to blame him for this number given that the team didn’t look often to feed him on the block, but he wasn’t necessarily effective when given the chance, turning the ball over five times.
Myles Turner: C
I know that Myles Turner’s impacts far transcends the box score, and the Pistons certainly didn’t want to challenge him at the rim, but give his newfound importance to the Pacers offense, mustering just six points is probably not ideal. Committing four turnovers is rubbing salt to the wound.
Kelan Martin: C-
Filling in for the injured Chris Duarte, Kelan Martin made his first start of the season, but failed to move the needle at all, shooting just one of seven from the field and almost fouling out of the game.
Player grade for the Indiana Pacers bench against the Pistons
TJ McConnell: B-
TJMC has been quite the barometer for the Indiana Pacers this season, as the team has a winning record when he finishes with double-digit scoring. By ending with just six points and four dimes, it’s no surprise that the Pistons bench outscored them by eight, with his counterpart Cory Joseph breaking them apart.
Justin Holiday: C
Justin Holiday is clearly much better coming off the bench, which was why Rick Carlisle opted to insert Kelan Martin to fill in for the injured Duarte. However, he didn’t fare any better with the second unit, making just one out of five tries from downtown and finishing a game-worst -16.
Torrey Craig: B
Torrey seemed like a catalyst to begin the fourth, leading the pacers’ initial surge in the period. Overall, he was one of the few players who truly had a good showing against Detroit, scoring 10 points in just 19 minutes.
Jeremy Lamb: B
Lamb sunk a three-pointer, and finished with five points in nine minutes, which is an ideal stat line for him all things considered. Still, I hope that the coaching staff considers giving his minutes to Oshae Brissett.
Goga Bitadze: INC
No, I’m not letting his seemingly ceaseless attraction to fouls defeat the fact that he only played four minutes. Goga wins the rating game by default.