At this point in the season, it seems charitable to say that the Indiana Pacers are anything better than a bottom-10 defense in the NBA. They are 22nd in points allowed per game, 23rd in defensive rating, and 21st in point differential as of their October 30th game against the Miami Heat.
Many will be quick to blame injuries, especially considering the Pacers were already not a very deep team. They have lost Ivica Zubac (arguably the team's most important defensive player for his rebounding), Tyrese Haliburton (the team's best player), and TJ McConnell (a capable defensive option in his own right), but they were bad on D even with Zubac and Haliburton playing.
To start the season, the Pacers were an awful first-half team, giving up a 30-point quarter in each of their first four game's first and second quarters. Now, the inverse has become true. Without Haliburton as the team's closer, Indiana has completely collapsed in the fourth quarter after fourth quarter, including a game against the Philadelphia 76ers where the Pacers blew a big lead.
This all came to a head against the Heat on Friday night, when Indiana surrendered 30+ points in every single quarter. Even though they scored a respectable 125, the Heat bullied them by 20 in a blowout.
Something has to change.
Symptom or diagnosis?
The question with the Pacers was always if the offense could be good enough to buoy the defense. All they needed was an average ability to stop their opponents. Instead, the defense has caused the all-world offense to be completely useless.
The Pacers are 2-4 despite facing only one particularly impressive team in the Sixers, who still haven't gelled as a squad. Indiana has beaten the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets, neither of whom is an offensive powerhouse or even generally a good team.
Truthfully, the Pacers have been bad this season. Not irreparably bad, but they certainly haven't been good enough to be considered contenders again the way some fans want to claim. Honestly, it's not even a lock that they'll be a playoff team in the increasingly fierce Eastern Conference.
Injuries deserve some of the blame, especially the hamstring strain of Tyrese Haliburton, who continues to be the piece of this roster the Pacers cannot survive without, but the team as a whole deserves real blame and criticism. They have failed to perform at even a league-average level on defense, and it's ruining any chances the team has at beating decent opponents.
It's not unfair to say that. Indiana has been a bad team through six games, and their defensive effort is a bigger reason for that than their injuries.
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