As of Thursday morning, the Indiana Pacers find themselves in an unexpected place in the Eastern Conference Standings. After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season, higher expectations were placed on this season.
After losing the fourth game in their last five, Head coach Rick Carlisle has his team at 6-9 and looking more like a play-in contender than a championship one.
Wednesday night, the Pacers lost 130-113 on the road to the Houston Rockets. While their ninth loss in the first month of play is not favorable, the game did not produce all bad performances.
Here are your winners and losers from the Pacers' 15th game.
Winner: Quenton Jackson
This is his second year in the league as the undrafted talent has been called upon due to a slew of injuries. Regular starters Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith have missed multiple games due to their lower body injuries. Fellow second-year player, Ben Sheppard, has also sat out the past few games, as well.
On Wednesday night, Jackson was tasked to start alongside Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, and Bennedict Mathurin. He not only played a season-high 27 minutes, but Jackson also had a team-high 24 points.
Jackson made just one of his three shots from behind the arc. Yet, those were the only misses for him on the night. The 6-foot-5-inch guard went nine-for-nine elsewhere.
The former Texas A&M product also produced on the defensive end. Of the Pacers' nine team blocks, Jackson recorded one and also added two steals to the stat sheet.
Loser: Tyrese Haliburton & Bennedict Mathurin
Combined, the Pacers' starting point guard and small forward scored half as many points as Jackson. Mathurin finished the game with eight points and Haliburton netted just four points.
Together, the two struggled to score as they made four total shots on fifteen shots between them. Haliburton did facilitate the ball handling well as he logged eight assists.
However, this pair's productivity led to Indiana's ninth loss of the season. Haliburton had a -28 and Mathurin had a -12 plus/minus.
Both players did reject an opponent's shot attempt to add to the Pacers' nine total team blocks. If the Pacers want to avoid dropping further down in the Eastern Conference standings, then they need more from these two offensive weapons.
In the last five games, Haliburton has yet to crack 20 points. Prior to that, he tallied a season-best of 35 points in a win against the New York Knicks.
Mathurin has scored in double figures in 11 of the 15 games he has played for the Pacers this season. Wednesday night was unfortunately the fourth time he scored less than 10. In the other game this month when he scored just eight points, he also shot below 40% from the floor.
Loser: Jarace Walker
When missing all five of your shot attempts, including four from behind the arc, it is hard to label a performance like that as a 'winner.'
Walker scored five points in 20 minutes during the loss against Houston. He went five-for-six from the charity stripe. He also committed four turnovers and four fouls. Both were team highs in the game.
Like Jackson, the second-year forward has also seen his minutes increase. However, Walker has only scored in double figures just three times this season.
Prior to Wednesday's game, Walker has shot just 28.6% from the floor in his two previous games going two-for-seven in both contests.
While playing significantly more in November than he did in October, Walker's scoring average has increased. He averaged 3.8 points a game in the first month of the season. Currently, he is averaging 6.8 points this month.
Only adding five points from free throws and turning over the ball almost as many times does not help a team with championship aspirations win games.
Winners: Pascal Siakam and TJ McConnell
Why are these two players listed as winners? Well, aside from Jackson, these are the only other two Pacers that connected on more than three shots against the Rockets.
Siakam finished the game with 21 points and four rebounds. He shot the ball well making eight of his 14 attempts. His plus/minus of -9 was actually the best of all five Pacers' starters.
Indiana has benefited from superb play from their backup point guard. In 19 minutes on Wednesday, McConnell made eight buckets for 17 points.
Siakam and McConnell also challenged the Rockets' offense. Along with Jackson, these players recorded a pair of steals each.
After having the league's best offense a season ago, the Pacers' have dropped 12 spots in terms of points per game scored. They are still shooting the ball effectively as they are tied for third in the league with 48.9% from the floor.
That is large in part to Siakam and McConnell. The Pacers' starting power forward has led the team in scoring averaging 20.5 points a game while connecting on 55.3% of his shots.
That field goal average ranks in the Top 20 in the NBA. McConnell's 55.1% ranks 23rd in the league. Offensive production like this can help the Pacers earn more wins than the six they currently own.
Their next game is on Friday when Indiana travels to Milwaukee in a rematch of last season's opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.