2 studs, 3 duds from Pacers' loss to shorthanded Pelicans

Although it looked like the tides were turning for the Indiana Pacers after their overtime win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, they failed to continue building on their momentum on Friday night, losing to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans, despite being without notable players like CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and Herbert Jones, defeated the Pacers 125-118. For the fifth time in six games, the Pacers failed to score above 120 points and are now 2-4.

Despite the loss, not all was bad for Indiana. Here are two studs and three duds from the Pacers' loss to New Orleans.

Stud: Ben Sheppard

Easily the most impressive Pacer in the loss was Ben Sheppard. After Aaron Nesmith's ankle injury in the first half that sidelined him for the rest of the game, Sheppard assumed a larger role and made the most out of it.

The Atlanta native scored a team-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting off the bench. Additionally, he recorded three rebounds and one assist. Sheppard was already looking solid to begin the season and deserved a bigger role in the rotation. With the status of Nembhard and Nesmith for the upcoming slate of games unknown, Sheppard could have a great opportunity ahead of him.

Dud: Tyrese Haliburton

To say Tyrese Haliburton's season so far is disappointing is an understatement. He has not looked like himself to begin the new campaign, and he had another bad performance against New Orleans.

In the loss, Haliburton recorded 11 points on 2-for-8 shooting, 11 assists, and two rebounds. It is still too soon to panic on Haliburton, but it is starting to reach the point where fans can genuinely be concerned. On the season, he is now averaging 14 points on 33.7% shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.2 steals.

The Wisconsin native has not played with the same pace or tempo that was crucial to his success last season. He still has plenty of time to turn things around, but his season hit another low in New Orleans.

Dud: Rebounding

From a team perspective, Indiana's rebounding, per usual, was arguably their biggest weakness against the Pelicans. The Pacers grabbed 39 boards to the Pelicans' 46. To make matters worse for the Pacers, their leading rebounder in the game, Isaiah Jackson, who grabbed eight rebounds in 16 minutes, suffered a leg injury that will likely sideline him multiple games.

The Pacers were never going to be a great rebounding team, but it is a major problem nonetheless, and that was further proven against the Pelicans.

Dud: Myles Turner

Speaking of bad rebounding, Myles Turner did not have a good game in his return from injury. In the game, the big man recorded 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, one block, and four turnovers. His performance is even worse considering that he was going up against Yves MIssi, a rookie making his first start, who outperformed him in the game.

Furthermore, despite a solid start to the year, Turner looked bad defensively in the loss, especially toward the end of the game, when Missi scored on him in the post to ice the game. It is unclear how much of that is due to his ankle injury, but it is a concern regardless.

With Jackson's injury, Turner is now the only healthy center on the team. While he is a fantastic player and has established himself as a cornerstone in Indiana, this is a bit concerning for a team that is already one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA.

Stud: T.J. McConnell

T.J. McConnell looked solid against the Pelicans, which was big considering Nembhard's absence and Haliburton's struggles. In the game, he recorded 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting, three rebounds, nine assists, and a steal.

Additionally, McConnell is bringing much of the pace the team is lacking while Haliburton is running point. McConnell is certainly not on the same level as Haliburton, but it is something to continue monitoring going forward.