Indiana Pacers: losing games is the best case scenario

The Indiana Pacers are a woeful 14-23 as of Jan. 3, 2022. This season has gone drastically worse than the front office, coaching staff, players, and fans anticipated before the start of the season.

When the Indiana Pacers signed Rick Carlisle to a 4-year, 29-million dollar contract, it was not to lose games, but to right the ship from last season’s debacle under Nate Bjorkgren.

However, this team has been worse than last season, especially in games decided by four or less points.

In games decided by four points or less, the Indiana Pacers are currently 1-11. Call it unlucky, call it lack of talent, but whatever you label it as, it is the result of a team that is not very good.

There are multiple reasons why I feel this team cannot close out games, but the biggest reason, they lack a go-to guy.

Say what you want to about Victor Oladipo, but when he came to Indiana, he stepped up multiple times in clutch moments, and the entire roster knew, this is our go-to guy.

With his departure, the Indiana Pacers are still searching for the guy they can count on late in games. We have seen Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis, and Chris Duarte have the ball in their hands with the game on the line, but the results have not bode well for the Pacers.

Any time a team loses more than they win, the level of interest from the fanbase will diminish. The Indiana Pacers are closing in on the halfway mark of the season, and they will have a below .500 record.

Pacers owner, Herb Simon, does not believe in tanking. However, with how poorly this team has played this season, there is no reason to intentionally tank.

The (14-23) Indiana Pacers currently have the 7th worst record in the NBA, and they are only one win better than the Portland Trailblazers (13-22), Oklahoma City Thunder (13-23), and the New Orleans Pelicans (13-23).

If the Indiana Pacers are unable to go on a winning streak, there is a good chance they could finish with a top 5 pick in the NBA Draft. While this outcome might not be ideal for the front office or ownership, this could be a perfect solution to ending the long and tiring walk on the treadmill of mediocrity. 

There are endless possibilities when having a high draft pick. This would give the Indiana Pacers the ability to land a potential star talent, or, they could package this pick to acquire a player that can help them win.

More importantly, the Pacers need to find a go-to player, and landing that player in the draft would be the best-case scenario. The beauty of drafting a prospect is the rookie scale contract they are on, as well as having their bird-rights in restricted free agency.

Most rookie deals last four years, and once the player enters restricted free agency, the team that has the player’s bird rights can agree to an extension, or match any offer sheet that the player signs, to keep them a part of the franchise.

While losing will benefit the Indiana Pacers’ chances of landing a high draft pick, it also increases the chances that the front office is more open to making trades with this roster.

When Bob Kravitz and Shams Charania reported that the Pacers were open for a rebuild, the front office, Rick Carlisle and Herb Simon shut down that idea quickly. We heard Rick Carlisle say, “the goal is to win and to get into the playoffs, but trades can happen.”

Getting into the play-in game is still a realistic possibility, but barring a drastic turnaround this season, that seems highly unlikely.

With COVID-19 sidelining eight players on the roster and injuries to both T.J. Warren and T.J. McConnell, there does not appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

The only light that might be shining at the end of that tunnel, is the chance to make some trades before the deadline, in the off-season and land a top pick.

There are still capable players on this roster that should be kept in the midst of a re-tool, but now is the perfect time to make changes and give this fan base something to look forward to.

No matter what, the Indiana Pacers can not run it back with this same core. Reconstructing the roster is a must for this franchise, and losing appears to be the only thing that will push the front office toward making moves.