Deck the halls and ring the bells. Toe to toe with the Christmas spirit, the Indiana Pacers are among the teams with lengthy wish lists, leaving a lot to be desired with their play this season as they currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 14-19 record, comfortably outside the playoff picture.
Injuries have once again hindered the Pacers this season, but there’s no question that their uninspiring play has been the main culprit for their bland start to the campaign. While the numbers show that they are a better team than what their record suggests, their utter lack of an identity and the front office’s wavering commitment on a resolute direction has been frustrating, leaving Indiana with only a few bright spots to beam with at the holiday point.
With the Pacers understandably, justifiably, and rightfully shelved for the Christmas festivities, we take a look on five things that should be atop the team’s wish list this year, starting off with…
Indiana Pacers Christmas wish list no. 5: More clarity on the TJ Warren front
With the 2021-22 NBA season inching closer to its halfway mark, forward TJ Warren has yet to make an appearance for the Blue and Gold as he continues rehabbing his injured left foot that prompted him to miss almost the entirety of last season.
As the Indiana Pacers continue to stumble in the standings, getting a bit more clarity on the status of TJ Warren should stabilize expectations around the team. They are clearly worse without the versatile scorer, as Warren, when healthy, gives the team an uber-efficient scoring option who can score from anywhere and defend at an adequate level.
The vigilance over his health, particularly in a contract year, is understandable, but the Pacers will be hard-pressed to properly evaluate this team’s ultimate ceiling without him playing, caging the team into clinging to mere hypotheticals to make apt personnel decisions—if they truly go that route.
Indiana Pacers Christmas wish list no. 4: More Oshae Brissett, please
After spending most of the year on coach Rick Carlisle’s doghouse, Oshae Brissett has seen an uptick in his minutes recently, carving out a seemingly and should-be permanent spot in the rotation that fans have expected before the start of the season as a follow-up to his semi-breakout in the previous campaign.
Having played north of 20 minutes in nine straight games, Brissett has certainly been a significant part of the rotation of late, but his role has been tethered to almost exclusively…dirty work. Oshae is ahead of many defensively, but he showed flashes of being a reliable scoring threat last season. Conversely, he’s only scored in double-digits twice in the last nine contests. In the entire season, you say? Just thrice.
With the Pacers’ gunners having the chronic issue of being hot and cold from the field, I would be more than fine with Brissett taking away some of Justin Holiday or Jeremy Lamb’s shot attempts. That way, the third-year tweener can showcase that he’s more than just a good defender with a three-point stroke.
Indiana Pacers Christmas wish list no. 3: More Chris Duarte, please
As a rookie, Chris Duarte has gotten every opportunity possible, especially with playing time, as he is averaging 29.0 minutes per game, fifth-most on the roster. That, however, has not been quite in line with his actual chances, as he’s primarily functioned as added security for the offense, instead of being in a featured role.
Duarte has plateaued a bit after a sensational October, but he remains as one of the Pacers’ most dangerous perimeter weapons. Even in his streamlined scoring role, he’s averaging 13.2 points per game. The rookie has not been as efficient, but his shifting role on offense could be the culprit.
Handing down the keys to Duarte in a more featured role, ideally as a gunner off the bench, could unlock him without compromising opportunities for the team’s more established players. He is also a much better facilitator than what his 2.1 assists average suggests, and with the team’s utmost lack of a backup point guard currently, having him handle the rock more could pay dividends down the road.
Indiana Pacers Christmas wish list no. 2: Pick one between Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis, without Myles Turner, logged an absurd triple-double with 16 points, 25 rebounds, and 10 assists against Minnesota. Myles Turner, without Domantas Sabonis, registered 32 markers and 10 boards versus Houston.
With each passing (unsuccessful) year, the Turner-Sabonis frontcourt partnership has been the subject of trade instigators. As the Indiana Pacers struggle to be a force in the league, breaking the duo should be a harmless proposition, especially with the way both big men perform as the sole center in more modern lineups.
Really, this experiment should have been quashed the moment they had a good offer in return. Both centers are so varied from each other that the Pacers, if they finally drop the hammer and yield to the inevitable, could possibly kill two birds with one stone as trading one of Turner and Sabonis will give them a headstart identity-wise while exacting attractive assets no matter who skips town.
Indiana Pacers Christmas wish list no. 1: Go big or go home on the trade market
The ownership may have a faithful derision to tanking or even retooling, but that should not prevent the Pacers front office from ramping up their activity on the transaction table. With the club boasting multiple pieces whom teams could use to heighten their chances to make competitive bids later on, they should capitalize on this chance to make a big change to an otherwise ineffective roster.
No, I do not mean that Indiana should do the expected and simply endorse their expiring contracts like Holiday and Lamb for the cursory task of exacting assets for flight risks. What I intend to say is that Indiana should be grandiose and committed to making a substantial alteration to their personnel.
Unless the franchise is attracted to the lack of allure associated with the uncertain waiting game by biding until TJ Warren coalesces with the core players and hoping for an instant catapult back to being one of the best teams in the league, the Pacers have to go big on the trade market.