3 Goals the Pacers must have this preseason to prove they are title contenders

As the NBA preseason has officially begun for the Indiana Pacers, there are a few things that head coach Rick Carlisle should be hoping for from his roster.

The Pacers exceeded last year's expectations. In doing so, they are ranked higher than ever before in the past decade or two.

Last season's Eastern Conference runner-ups fell to the Atlanta Hawks by one point in another high-scoring contest in their preseason opener. Carlisle and company should use the rest of the preseason schedule to accomplish these goals.

1. Improve their defense

Yes, in the last three years, Indiana's offense has gotten better. In fact, the Pacers held the highest points per game average, field goal percentage, and assists per game last season.

It is the defense that is shaky. That showed again last night as the team allowed 131 points on Tuesday night.

Last season, the Pacers allowed just over 120 points a game. That ranked third-worst in the Eastern Conference and fourth-worst overall in the league. Of the teams in the bottom seven, Indiana was the only team to qualify for the playoffs.

"Our mind set, if it’s shifted to simply trying to outscore teams, and away from any kind of emphasis defensively, that’s got to stop. If it means massive lineup changes then that’s what will happen, if it means playing a slowdown game, that’s what’ll happen."

- Rick Carlise, Indiana Pacers Head Coach

Furthermore, the Pacers gave up the league's highest field goal percentage (49.6%) and allowed an average of 26 free throws a game.

Two seasons ago, the Pacers weren't much better. That pretty much was the same story in regard to the field goal percentage and free throw attempts.

Indiana allowed an astonishing 119.5 points per game. That ranked worst in the East and was only lower than the San Antonio Spurs (123.1).

This year, Carlisle must get his players to commit more on defense. Pressuring their opponent to take bad shots, blocking passing lanes, and forcing more turnovers should be one of the goals for the Pacers.

2. Stay healthy and balanced

The biggest victim of the injury bug last year was Tyrese Haliburton. He was out and missed multiple games due to a lingering lower body injury.

The Pacers went just 7-6 without Haliburton in the lineup last season. No surprise here, but the team was much worse without him on the road. Five of those six losses game came when Indiana was the guest.

Bennedict Mathurin went down in the spring and ended up missing the playoffs. Luckily, the Pacers were a deep team then and appear to still be now.

The only major departure for Indiana is Jalen Smith. Indiana inked James Wiseman to a two-year deal to replace the big man. The Pacers will also benefit from a full season with Pascal Siakam, who came to the team mid-season.

3. Winning more close games

The Indiana Pacers lose too many games decided by five points or less to be serious championship contenders. This trend hurt the Pacers last year and it showed up again Tuesday night.

Of their 35 losses last year, Indiana lost 13 games by five points or less. Five of those defeats were against non-playoff teams including two by the Portland Trailblazers. They had three in a row against the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks, and the Sacramento Kings.

In March, the Pacers had a stretch of nine games where they lost four games by the same margin.

While it is not the expectation for the Pacers to win every game, Winning just four of those 13 games that were tight losses would have had Indiana move from the sixth seed to the second seed in the Eastern Conference last season.

Hopefully, these kinks and flaws get worked out in the preseason. Three games remain on their slate before the regular season starts for the Pacers on Wednesday, October 23rd at Detroit as they take on the Pistons.