Indiana Pacers: A troubling pattern in the clutch is emerging

While the Indiana Pacers understandably do not have winning as the primary goal late in the season, you simply cannot fault the players for wanting to reward their hard work with a dub, same goes for the fans who have grown tired of watching the team uncharacteristically lose too much this season and prefer to catch a win or two.

Even that, however, has proven to be quite elusive for the Pacers, which have lost four of their last five contests, including three straight. The common denominator in those losses is not difficult to spot—Indiana remains a head-scratching team in the clutch.

The Indiana Pacers have a new problem in the clutch period, one that must be addressed before the season reaches its endpoint

We have repeatedly echoed on the Indiana Pacers’ well-documented problems closing out games this season, which has been the main culprit for more than half of their losses. However, their new problem in the clutch is a far more crucial one to address, as it affects how they traverse through games in the near future.

Tyrese Haliburton, arguably the Pacers’ most efficient creator from the backcourt, has been sensational since donning the blue and gold. However, his output in the clutch period from recent games veers away from his typical production through the first three frames.

In their latest loss to the Cavaliers, this was pretty jarring. Haliburton, who played a tremendous third quarter, barely handled the rock in the fourth. Alex Golden (check out his latest podcast here), one of our writers, was quick to point it out:

After shooting an astounding 6/7 from the field in the third quarter, Haliburton missed his only attempt in the fourth. Malcolm Brogdon, who has been the Pacers’ leading scorer since the All-Star break, has been getting the bulk of shots in the fourth quarter from that juncture.

It was the same script against Cleveland. The result? Another should-be win that perplexingly slipped out of their hands. With Brogdon being the lone pipeline to score in the waning moments of the game, the Pacers reverted to a highly predictable, hero-ball attack that eventually sealed their fate.

As I have mentioned before, Brogdon should perform the best in a non-formulaic role, sneaking through defenses as a secondary scorer who thrives off of Haliburton’s playmaking in spontaneous off-ball movement and finding mismatches. That proposed dynamic has been inexistent so far, perhaps even unplanned by those involved.

However, with their new, recurring problems in the clutch as great indicators of what must be tweaked, the Indiana Pacers must quickly realize that their current backcourt pairing could perform much better if they change their schemes, especially in closing out games.