Ever since their In-Season Tournament finals loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Indiana Pacers haven’t been able to find their footing. They’ve now lost three regular-season games in a row, with their latest being a defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Tyrese Haliburton was missing from the rotation, and the Timberwolves are currently the best team in the Western Conference, but it was still a rough 127-109 loss.
Indiana’s awful defense continues to be one of the biggest storylines of the season. For as great as Haliburton and their offense has been, they just can’t find any semblance of consistency because of the defense.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at two duds and one stud from the Pacers’ loss to the Timberwolves.
Dud - Buddy Hield
It’s been an ugly, ugly month for Buddy Hield, who took Bennedict Mathurin’s spot on the Pacers’ rotation after the second-year wing went through some early-season struggles.
Hield’s not a great perimeter defender, but he’s one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Unfortunately, his shot hasn’t been there, and without it, he’s not very effective.
Against the Timberwolves, Hield finished the game with zero points, one rebound, two assists, and three turnovers while shooting -of-4 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
Mathurin hasn’t been amazing this year, but if Hield continues to struggle as much as he has, it feels as though the youngster could benefit from behind reinserted into the starting lineup.
Stud - Isaiah Jackson
TJ McConnell deserves an honorable mention look here. With Tyrese Haliburton out, McConnell got the start for the Indiana Pacers, and he was his usual nuisance, which was fun to see.
Bruce Brown was also solid in Haliburton’s absence, taking on a bigger role in the offense on a night when the Pacers needed him to do exactly that.
But instead of those two, Isaiah Jackson will get his second straight nod as the stud of the game in a Pacers loss, as he was also the most impressive player in Indiana’s Friday night loss to the Washington Wizards.
The 21-year-old gave the Pacers a great source of energy in a game where they struggled to keep up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have the best defense in the league.
Jackson finished the night with 12 points, three rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks while shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor. The big man filled up the stat sheet.
Jalen Smith was playing amazing to start the year, but with him out due to injury, Jackson has stepped up and provided the Pacers with quality backup center minutes.
He’s earned a consistent role in the Pacers rotation regardless of who’s healthy.
Dud - Myles Turner
Buddy Hield and Myles Turner as duds, and Isaiah Jackon as the stud - the same exact lineup of players as the Indiana Pacers’ loss to the Washington Wizards. That’s just how things panned out.
Turner should be the second-best player on the Pacers behind Tyrese Haliburton. And with Haliburton out, Turner should be ready to step up into a bigger role.
Unfortunately, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he once again faded into the background, continuing a string of struggle-filled games for the veteran Pacers big man.
He finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, and one steal while shooting just 2-of-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from behind the three-point line.
But Turner’s biggest issues in this game came on the defensive side of the ball, as Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 40 points and 12 rebounds on 15-of-25 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 shooting from deep.
Giannis Antetokounmpo got the best of Turner in a recent Pacers loss, and in their loss to the Wizards, Washington managed to score 68 points in the paint.
Isaiah Jackson has been playing great, and while he may not be ready to take over the starting role, Turner’s play as of late has been fairly concerning, to say the least.