If the first game of this season for the Indiana Pacers was a joyous occasion, the second game was truly the opposite, as Indiana gave up 44 points in the first quarter and 77 in the first half en route to a 16-point blowout that was never even close.
Early in a season, every single game feels so important, but it's important to remember that there are 80 more of these. Indiana was going to lose some games. No team has ever gone 82-0, and it's unlikely any team ever will.
However, the worries with this game are less about the fact that the Pacers lost and more about how they did so.
Indiana's potent offense looked slow and stagnant. Ivica Zubac, the main acquisition from the Pacers' gap year, shot only seven times and was the team's worst -23. Additionally, the rotation worries got even weirder, with Jarace Walker getting the start over Kelly Oubre. Somehow, both had dreadful games.
Worst of all, the Pacers looked like they couldn't defend a sandcastle from a seagull while Kyrie Irving, fresh off an ACL tear, scored 24 points in his second game back. That brings back some scary memories from this summer's conversations.
The defense needs to step up
So often in NBA conversations, offensively focused teams are labeled as defensively weak. The 2016 Golden State Warriors are often branded as simply okay defensively because of their all-world offense, when in reality they were extremely elite – arguably the best defense and offense of all time – on both sides of the ball.
The Pacers are by no means in that category, but they have a decent defensive infrastructure built. Each of Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Ivica Zubac is a good to great defender individually, and the rest of the roster at least tries.
However, that doesn't seem to be enough. Indiana has given up 30+ point quarters in each of the four first-half periods in their first two games. Despite a dramatic comeback against the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 1, the team clearly is not coming out of the gate strong.
Having an identity as the "Devil Magic" Pacers, who are never truly dead until the end of the game, is a cute brand, but the team can't keep putting itself in disadvantageous situations so often, even if they can dig themselves out. There's only so many holes you can handle!
The Pacers' defense is not playing up to the standard, and over-reliance on comebacks is a sign of hubris that could sink what could be a very fun and very good roster.
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