After a hot start to the season, the Indiana Pacers have fallen off, and they’ve fallen off in a big way. Following their Thursday night loss to the Miami Heat, they are now just 9-8 on the season.
Their loss to the Heat stung particularly bad, considering the Pacers held a 13-point lead at one point. In fact, they had a wire-to-wire win in the palm of their hands through three-quarters.
Then, the fourth quarter happened.
Miami absolutely steamrolled the Pacers, turning a Pacers lead into a 10-point win for themselves, winning the quarter 45-32 and the game 142-132. The Heat were up by as many as 16 points in the final frame.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at two duds and one stud from the Pacers’ brutal loss to the Heat, grading each performance.
Dud - Buddy Hield
Another game, another dud list for Buddy Hield. After a nice stretch after being inserted into the starting lineup, Hield has struggled mightily to bring much to the table.
Against the Heat, Hield finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-11 from distance.
To make matters worse, in the fourth quarter, Hield had just six points but shot 2-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.
It was a rough game for Hield, capped off by the fact that he fouled out. Not only is he struggling to keep up on the defensive end, but his shot has been rough as of late, too.
GRADE: C-
Stud - Tyrese Haliburton
At this point, Tyrese Haliburton may as well have a permanent residence on the stud list. This guy is absolutely incredible, and it seems like every night, he manages to one-up himself.
It was a career night for the All-Star point guard, as he put up a career-high 44 points against the Heat to go along with two rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and one block while shooting 15-of-28 from the field and 6-of-16 from long-range.
Unfortunately, his three-point stroke escaped him in the fourth quarter, as while he has 11 points and three assists on 4-of-9 shooting, all five of his misses were behind the arc, as he went 0-for-5.
That said, it was still a great night for Haliburton, and he definitely didn’t deserve to lose this game. As the season goes on, it’s becoming more and more clear that the Pacers need to get him some help.
Whether that help is in the form of a secondary star or simply someone who can help patch up the holes on the defensive end, Haliburton cannot do it all by himself anymore.
He’s too good for the Pacers to be losing in the fashion they lost to the Heat, and the good vibes from the beginning of the season are slowly fading.
GRADE: A-
Dud - Anyone and everyone who guarded Jaime Jaquez Jr.
For the first time in studs and duds history, the list is not made up of three individual players. Instead, this list needs a special addition, as Jaime Jaquez Jr. absolutely torched the Indiana Pacers.
Guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jerami Grant have given the Pacers buckets in the past, but those guys are known for their scoring. This was different.
Jaquez Jr. has been having a great rookie season for the Heat, and this is by no means meant to disrespect his play. He was amazing against Indiana. But the way the Pacers defended him was laughable.
He was scoring in transition with ease, stomping through the Pacers' defense, and at its worst, he was simply cutting behind the unknowing Indiana defense for easy buckets.
The UCLA product ended the night with 24 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal while shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 1-of-3 from deep.
However, Jaquez Jr. did most of his damage in the fourth quarter. In the final period, he put up 14 points, four rebounds, and one assist while shooting 5-of-7 from the field. No threes. Just buckets.
Jaquez Jr. deserves all the credit in the world for his impressive performance, leading the Heat to a comeback win. But for all the credit he gets, the Pacers should get an equal amount of flack for how poorly they defended him.
GRADE: E(mbarrassing)
GRADE for Jaime Jaquez Jr.: T(oo easy)