The Indiana Pacers continued their streak of win-loss-win-loss on Monday night, falling to the lowly Portland Trail Blazers, who are in full tank mode this season.
After trading Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks over the summer, the Trail Blazers emptied their roster, yet somehow, they still managed to take down the Pacers.
It was a complete mess of a night Pacers, who once again struggled to defend and, in a weird instance, had some troubles on the offensive end as well - an area that is usually their strong suit.
So, since the Pacers lost by a score of 114-110, instead of two studs and one dud, we’re going to be taking a look at one stud and two duds. And since it was an ugly game, let’s get the stud out of the way.
Stud - Tyrese Haliburton
As if there would have been anyone else to take this spot. Tyrese Haliburton very rarely has a bad game, and despite the fact that the Pacers lost, he still had a solid showing.
As per usual, Haliburton’s offense was elite. He was scoring in bunches and setting his teammates up for good looks, even if they weren’t always making the shots.
Haliburton finished the game against the Trail Blazers with a team-high 33 points to go along with two rebounds and nine assists. He shot 11-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, Haliburton’s performance wasn’t enough to carry them over the finish line against a team they absolutely should have beaten.
Dud - Buddy Hield
For the second game in a row, Buddy Hield failed to live up to the expectations that have likely been placed on him since being reentered into the Indiana Pacers’ starting lineup.
Hield was moved into the starting five, which meant Bennedict Mathurin, who was struggling himself, headed to the bench unit, where he spent most of last season.
And while Hield went through a hot streak of games while a member of the starting lineup, these last two games have been rough, and against the Portland Trail Blazers, Hield played poorly.
The veteran sharpshooter finished the game with just nine points to go along with one rebound, three assists, one steal, and one block. However, the worst part of his night was his shooting efficiency, as he shot just 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-6 from behind the three-point line.
For a guy whose primary job is to take and make threes at a high clip, Hield failed miserably against the Trail Blazers, who, again, are one of the worst teams in the league.
And to make matters worse, Hield’s play on the defensive end also leaves much to be desired, so this was simply an all-around rough game for the veteran.
Dud - Obi Toppin
When the Indiana Pacers traded for Obi Toppin in a deal with the New York Knicks over the summer, they were hoping to shore up the massive hole they had at the starting power forward position.
And while he’s shown some flashes of potential, Toppin hasn’t necessarily lived up to the expectations that a lot of fans placed on his shoulders heading into the season.
Against the Portland Trail Blazers, Toppin once again got the start, but he failed to put in an effective shift, as he only ended up playing 19:05 in the game.
Toppin ended the night against Portland with nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and one block while shooting just 3-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.
As Pacers fans were quick to point out on Twitter, Toppin hasn’t played well in a couple of key categories this season: Defense and rebounding. And for a power forward, those are two very important categories.
The criticism thrown Toppin’s way has only been made worse by the fact that rookie Jarace Walker, who the Pacers selected with the eighth pick in the 2023 NBA Drat, hasn’t earned much playing time this year.
If Toppin continues to struggle as much as he has at times throughout the season, then there’s no reason the Pacers shouldn’t turn to Walker a little bit more.