Top 3 emerging storylines for the Indiana Pacers this month

The Indiana Pacers have had their share of early ups and downs already this season. A season ago, head coach Rick Carlisle had his team steamroll through the third and second seeds in the playoffs. They went as far as the Eastern Conference Finals as the sixth seed.

Expectations shot up coming into this season as nearly every player returned with the exception of Jalen Smith. Entering Wednesday night's game at Orlando, the Pacers hoped to be above .500 for the first time since their season opener, though they lost the game and are now 5-6.

While there is still plenty of time in the season for the Pacers to regain last season's form, let's take a look at the three storylines that will most likely dominate the month of November.

1. Injuries to the starting wings

Shooting guard Andrew Nembhard and small forward Aaron Nesmith have missed games and are expected to continue to do so.

On Sunday, the Pacers announced that Nembhard would miss two weeks due to a knee injury. Nesmith was also listed to miss significant time as he is ruled out until next month with his hurt ankle.

Last season, the two missed a combined 20 games. That was more than the year prior to that when the pair only sat out a combined 16 contests.

Both Pacers' starters were seeing a dip in their scoring this season. Nembhard averaged 9.2 points a game last year and Nesmith averaged three more than that. Indiana had the league's best offense last season as well as they lead the league in points per game, field goal percentage, and assists.

After 10 games, the Pacers have the eighth-highest scoring average and the second-best field goal percentage. They are only below the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers. They rank sixth-best in assists per game, too.

Offensively, they are not too far off from last season. However, the defense is still struggling as the Pacers are in the top seven in points allowed, once again.

The Pacers' bench has been known to be a strength of this franchise. They were the leading scoring second unit last season.

Earlier this season against the Orlando Magic on November 6, the Pacers' bench shot 90% from the floor. The subs connected on 18 of their 20 shots, including two players going a perfect seven-for-seven.

The question here is, can the Pacers withstand these early on this season as wins have become a little harder? Do they make a move to bolster their roster or stand pat?

2. Can the Pacers recreate the same success for the NBA Cup?

Last year, the Pacers were the surprise darling out of the Eastern Conference for the inaugural In-Season Tournament, now known as the NBA Cup. They impressed NBA fans by making it to the Finals of the In-Season Tournament a year ago.

This season, Indiana drew home games against the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons as well as two games on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.

Friday will be the first of four games in group play. The top team from each of the three groups will advance with one overall wild card winner from each conference.

Last year, the Pacers steamrolled through the 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, and Pistons to qualify for the playoff bracket of the In-Season Tournament. The Bucks and the Celtics were the other two teams to win their group with Knicks earning the wild card berth.

The Pacers trampled through the Celtics and the Bucks to get to the Finals against the Lakers. Haliburton emerged as a star in the league with double-doubles.

It is going to take that level of production (and more) for the Pacers to recreate that success for this year's tournament. Entering Friday, the Pacers own a better regular season record than the rest of the teams in Group B.

Another strong showing could elevate Indiana's season and push them toward the levels that the Cavaliers and Celtics are playing at. Playing below .500 basketball simply won't do for a team that is looking to return to the Eastern Conference Finals.

3. Bennedict Mathurin is maturing

Entering Friday, the 22-year-old shooting guard is averaging 19.7 points while pulling down 6.6 rebounds a game. Both rank in the top 50 across the league.

What's even better--Mathurin is shooting 53.4%, which cracks the top 30 in the NBA. In his first two years with the Pacers, he averaged about 44%. Thus, the improvements in his offensive game have been noticed.

Last Sunday, Mathurin racked up a season and career-high of 38 points. He did so by connecting on 13 of his 18 shots including seven of nine from behind the three-point arc. The Pacers' third-year swingman also made five of his six free throw attempts.

In fact, in the last four games for Indiana, Mathurin has not missed more than one free throw a game. Collectively in that span, he has gone 30 of 34 from the charity stripe.

Filling in nicely for either Nesmith or Nembhard, this young Pacers player has emerged as a go-to scoring threat. After scoring just 35 points combined in the first two games of the month, Mathurin has averaged 25.75 points in his last four games.

Mathurin's efficiency and newfound ability to light up the scoreboard should help in the Pacers' efforts to return to the postseason. After a four-year absence, the Pacers returned last season and were four wins shy of making it back to the NBA Finals.