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A poor first half showing put the Pacers in too deep of a hole, as they failed to overcome a 23-point halftime deficit against Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Indiana lost their game against Denver (in Mexico City) 114-102, but definitely gave us a lot to discuss.
Similar to Memphis, every player that dressed for tonight's game got some run.
Here are grades for all 13 players.
Siakam scored 22.5% of the Pacers total points in tonight's game. He finished with 23 on 10-18 shooting and went 2-7 from three. He was quiet on the boards with just 2, but added in 5 assists. He was a 0 in the plus-minus column, meaning that the Pacers were even with Denver in his 32 minutes of play.
The All-Star power forward only shot two free throws, and was non-existent on the glass. Those numbers likely improve had he been more aggressive on both ends of the floor for the entirety of the game, but he still put together a strong performance and reached a career milestone by reaching 13,000 points scored.
After dominating the scoreboard the last four outings, Nembhard struggled to put the ball into the basket, scoring just 9 points on 3-9 shooting. He went 3-6 from three, 0-3 from two and missed a technical free-throw shot late in the fourth quarter. He still dished out 8 assists while only committing one turnover, and played solid defense on Murray all night. But in a game where offense was hard to find, the Pacers needed a lot more from their second-best player on the floor.
Carlisle had some unique lineup decisions in the fourth quarter. A group of Siakam, Walker, Toppin, Jackson and Oubre had found success and cut the lead to 9 with 6:33 left to play. Needing a rest, he subbed out everyone but Walker and put in Nembhard, Nesmith, Nance and Slawson. That left only Nembhard out there as the sole shot creator and Indiana was only able to score one bucket during a two-minute rest for Siakam. Nembhard's 3 with 2:07 to play would be the last time the Pacers scored the rest of the game,
Chalk this one up as another forgettable Nesmith game. Yes, he did some things well on the floor, but there was a lot of questionable decisions he made throughout the game. The team was outscored by 10 points when he was on the floor, and he still is struggling to connect from three (2-7 tonight). His only made threes came on back-to-back possessions in the middle of the third quarter, meaning that for 25 of his minutes he wasn't a threat offensively.
While nobody denies that he is a warrior who is willing to sacrifice his body on any given night, his decision to take a charge on a driving Murray with 1:45 was poorly executed. He waited too late to get in position for the charge and his foot was well into the restricted area. We all know that Nesmith has more to offer than he has given this season, but they need him to turn things around sooner than later.
The boxscore doesn't feel as positive as the play from Zubac tonight. He got into foul trouble, only logged 19 minutes, and looked frustrated several times, but the production was solid. He had 10 points on 4-5 shooting, made both free throws, gobbled up 12 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and only had 2 turnovers.
At one point in the second quarter, Zubac was switched onto Murray defensively and left him alone for a wide-open three as he reverted back into the paint. No other Pacer ran to contest Murray's shot and Zubac threw his hands to the air in frustration like there was a communication breakdown between he and the guards on what defensive coverage was supposed to be played. This was a sign of team chemistry needing to be improved and for there to be a sharper focus on the details.
The rookie point guard got his third consecutive start, but this performance was unlike the last two. He only played 12 minutes and went scoreless on 0-4 shooting. He has 2 assists, 0 turnovers, 1 steal and was a team-worst negative 12 in the plus-minus category.
Before he was subbed out for the final time in the third quarter, you could see Carlisle getting on his case for a defensive breakdown. The Pacers put Slawson into the game for him and unsurprisingly went on a much-needed run.
McConnell returned to the lineup tonight after missing all of preseason and the regular season with a hamstring injury. He looked spry, had a quick firststep and gave the team so energy during a difficult stretch of play.
His minutes restriction kept him out of the rotation in the second half, but he still finished with 6 points on 3-5 shooting. He added 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 block. It's too early to evaluate the veteran guard but he was solid.
Offensively, Nance was the second leading scorer for the team with 15 points on 5-7 shooting. All of his attempts were from the three-point line and the Pacers desperately needed it. He's too small to put up any resistance against Jokic or Bagley, but he was involved during the Pacers better moments of play. He finished the game with a positive plus-minus of +1 and it felt like the team was actually better in the minutes he played.
Tonight was a less than impressive showing from Toppin, but I do believe his impact would have been greater had he just connected on more of his open looks. He finished the game with 10 points on 4-11 shooting, was solid on the glass with 7 boards and had 2 assists. He was a part of the unit that started the fourth quarter and helped generate some solid play, but Indiana needed more from their sixth man.
Who would have thought that 2 big-time blocks would be the highlight of Oubre's showing in Mexico? I give him credit for that and understand he missed the last two games, but he was underwhelming once again. Thankfully for Oubre, he was a part of the fourth quarter unit that had some positive momentum -but he was the fifth option on offense and barely touched the ball-- and was guarding the weakest wing on defense. It has been a slow start for the 12-year-veteran wing and his playing time will continue to dwindle if he doesn't turn it around.
Walker provided some solid production in the 20 minutes he played. In a game the Pacers lost by 12, Walker was only a -2 in the plus-minus category, even though he really struggled to connect from three (1-5). His ball movement and defense were stirdy, he committed no turnovers and had 9 points while going perfect from two-point range and the free throw line.
Sidenote: You can argue that his biggest impact on the floor tonight was how well he greeted the fans from Mexico City in Spanish...his teammates got hyped and even Coach Carlisle was impressed.
GIVE THIS MAN A STANDARD CONTRACT. He's defintiely earned one...right?
Before Slawson entered the game in the middle of the third quarter, the team was giving about 80% of the effort they could. For whatever reason, the team flpped the switch once he entered the game and they closed the Nuggets 23 point lead to 12 by the fourth. He finished the game with 4 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound and was a +13 in the plus-minus column.
Once again, Q did his thing. In 17 minutes of play he scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting, had 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and was a +3 in the plus-minus category. With McConnell back in the lineup, he proved that he is still deserving of rotation minutes and made a huge layup over two defenders during a run that helped cut the Pacers deficit to single digits. The only complaint you could make is that he didn't look for his offense enough, but overall I was pleased with his play.
It was a quiet game for Huff as he played just 10 mintues and went scoreless. In a short amount of time, he still got three boards which is solid number for him. Zubac, Toppin and Nance were much better options in this game at the five, as this was not a good matchup for the 6-year veteran.
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