The Indiana Pacers played their final game ahead of a stretch of seven games in two weeks in which they will face nonstop playoff teams and contenders on Wednesday evening. They managed to beat the Washington Wizards with a final score of 114-101.
There are so many stories to take away from this game, and so many of them are exactly what Pacers fans want to see. Ivica Zubac, after a rough stretch of games to start the season, was absolutely dominant. Pascal Siakam got to the free-throw line 12 times and hit every single free throw he attempted.
In the absence of Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers have had to find alternate ways of winning. Unfortunately, before Wednesday night, those ways had proven to be deeply ineffective.
The Pacers are currently 4-8. They have not been a good or even mediocre team to start the season. However, a random regular-season victory against the Wizards may prove vital for the team to finally find an identity it can use to win games without its superstar point guard.
Rebounding is the key to saving this Pacers season
Most estimates assume that Halliburton will not be back before Thanksgiving at the very earliest. As mentioned before, that means they will be without the guy that the team has been reliant on to both set their offense up and to keep everyone motivated and happy.
So far this year, Indiana has not been able to overcome the morose nature of games played without Tyrese. The lack of energy has been palpable, and the team's best players – with the exception of Andrew Nembhard – have not stepped up the way they need to.
However, when energy cannot be generated by playmaking and passing, it must be created by togetherness, toughness, and sheer force of will.
For the Pacers, that means it's time to go all in on rebounding.
After getting thoroughly dominated on the boards against the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana managed to match the Wizards' offensive and defensive rebounding totals. By simply finding a way to even out that playing field, the Pacers were able to get back to running the floor and creating easy offense for each other.
This needs to be the status quo going forward. With Ivica Zubac and Pascal Siakam, there is no reason that this team should be outclassed on the glass the way they have been.
Additionally, when Halliburton does finally return, he will come back to an offensive ecosystem that allows him to leak out and run the break from free-throw line to free-throw line instead of going the full length of the court by himself.
Considering the time he has missed with lower-body injuries, that sounds like a win-win for everyone.
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