The Indiana Pacers suffered one of their worst losses of the season on Friday night, falling to the Washington Wizards by a final score of 137-123.
It was a brutal night for the Pacers, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, as Jordan Poole and the Wizards were getting whatever they wanted all night long.
No one on the Pacers could do anything to slow down the Wizards, and unfortunately, their offense wasn’t enough to overcome the show that Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, and Corey Kispert put on.
The Wizards are one of the worst teams in the league. This was a rough one. Let’s take a look at two duds and one stud from Indiana’s loss to Washington.
Dud - Buddy Hield
When Buddy Hield isn’t shooting the ball well, he’s not usually going to bring much to the floor. Unfortunately, that was the case on Friday night, as Hield struggled mightily.
The veteran sharpshooter finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks but shot just 4-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-11 from behind the three-point line.
While he managed to record some solid defensive statistics against the Wizards, he’s not the best one-on-one defender. Add in the fact that his shot wasn’t falling, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
He’s been having an alright season, but with his contract and the Pacers’ desire to improve around Tyrese Haliburton, Hield feels like a prime candidate to be moved by the February 8 trade deadline this season.
Stud - Isaiah Jackson
On Friday night, there weren’t many positives. The Indiana Pacers lost to one of the worst teams in the league. How could there be? It was an utterly disastrous night.
Luckily for the Pacers, there is one bright spot that they can take away from the night, and that bright spot is Isaiah Jackson, who looked great against the Wizards.
On a night when Indiana’s center play struggled a bit, Jackson stepped up in a big way, putting up some monster numbers in fewer minutes than most other players received.
Jackson finished the game with 20 points, 13 rebounds (six on the offensive glass), one assist, and one block while shooting 10-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc.
His crazy athleticism and ability to dominate the glass allowed him to be particularly effective against a Washington Wizards team without much depth at the center position.
At just 21 years old, Jackson has plenty of time to grow as a player, and Friday night was a great sign for his development moving forward. It could even end up leading to more minutes for him in the Pacers rotation moving forward.
It’s tough to evaluate just how promising Jackson is on a night when the Pacers got killed, but his stats certainly tell a promising story, and he deserves more opportunities.
Dud - Myles Turner
To be perfectly clear, Tyrese Haliburton deserved to be a dud in this game. He was rough. But with Buddy Hield’s shooting struggles and Myles Turner’s rough play, there just wasn’t room.
Turner had a rough outing against the Washington Wizards. While Isaiah Jackson was able to take advantage of Washington’s lack of center depth, Turner was not.
Instead, he ended up struggling on both ends of the court, as well as on the glass - an area where he’s never been particularly impressive throughout his career.
Turner ended the game against Washington with six points, four rebounds, one assist, and three blocks while shooting 2-of-10 from the field and 1-of-4 from deep.
The Wizards were able to walk all over Turner all night long, and to make matters worse, he didn’t provide the Pacers much on the offensive end of the floor either.
Turner has been with the Pacers for years. He’s a core piece on this team, and in the right setting, he’s very effective. Friday night just wasn’t his night.
Improvements on the glass feel like they’re needed, and while he picks up a ton of blocks, Turner could stand to improve a bit on the defensive side of the ball as well. He’ll bounce back, but the Wizards game was a tough scene.