3 Biggest Pacers issues this season and 3 potential solutions
By Scott Conrad
3. Fouling and allowing free throws
Though a team is not cannot defend the free throw attempts themselves, the Indiana Pacers need to do a better job of preventing their opponents from hitting the charity stripe.
Indiana averages about 22.5 fouls a game, which is in the top three for the most in the league. Opponents have capitalized on this by averaging 28.7 attempts per game, which makes an already-poor Indiana defense even worse.
This means the Pacers are donating nearly 20% of their points allowed without a minute or second coming off the clock. A more disciplined team must take the court if Indiana looks to reduce these numbers and continue their winning ways.
Defending without fouling should be one of the Pacers' first steps toward improving their defense, so it could potentially fit in with that bullet point, but the issue has been so bad this season that the topic deserves it's own section.
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A trade for a big man to help on the boards, along with a swap for a strong defender on the outside, could buck these trends for the Pacers. Or perhaps they find it within themselves to pull the ball in better and stop sending the other team to the free-throw line for extra points.