Last season, the Indiana Pacers made a surprising run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. The narrative around them was that it was somewhat of a lucky accomplishment for them. Their first round opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks, were without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo for the whole series and didn’t have Damian Lillard for two games. In the next round, they faced the New York Knicks who were missing numerous pieces such as Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Nonetheless, being one of the final four teams remaining in the NBA playoffs is an impressive feat.
Much of their success was predicated on an explosive offense that was among the best in the league. Their play on the offensive end has not gone as smoothly thus far this season. It is a huge reason why the Pacers are just off to a 9-14 start after going 47-35 last season.
In their most recent game on Wednesday, they had a disappointing performance against the Brooklyn Nets, losing by the score of 99-90. The Pacers scored just 35 points in the first half.
Stark Differences Between Pacers Offense This Season And Last
What A Difference A Year Makes For The Pacers Offense
The differences in the Pacers numbers on offense from this season to last are quite stark. Just look at some of those numbers from 2023-24 and through 23 games in 2024-25 (where they rank for the season listed in parentheses).
Points per game:
2023-24: 123.3 (1st)
2024-25: 113.4 (14th)
Offensive rating:
2023-24: 121.0 (2nd)
2024-25: 112.6 (18th)
Pace:
2023-24: 101.7 (2nd)
2024-25: 99.9 (8th)
The 121.0 offensive rating that Indiana finished with last season is the second-highest in NBA history. Only last season’s champions, the Boston Celtics, have a higher one at 123.2, also from 2023-24. To go from the second-best ever to not even being in the top half of the league this season is mind-blowing. Keep in mind that the Pacers only had two-time All-NBA Pascal Siakam for about half of last season after trading for him.
Haliburton’s Offensive Decline
Of course, the Pacers fulcrum on offense is star point guard Tyrese Halliburton. The 24-year-old was named to the All-NBA Third Team last season while leading the league averaging 10.9 assists per game.
Despite playing three more minutes per game in 2024-25, his numbers have dipped. Halliburton is averaging 2.5 less points (17.6 to 20.1 in 2023-24) and is down to 8.4 assists per contest. He is throwing up a career-high 8.6 threes per game while connecting on just 33.3% of them (career-low). Halliburton has also been less accurate inside of the arc, making 53.8% of his two-pointers compared to 59.5% in 2023-24.
Injuries To Two Starters
While not exactly household names, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard have been extremely important role players for Indiana. They have been the team’s starting small forward and shooting guard respectively when available. The two just haven’t been available enough. They have combined to appear in just 15 of a possible 46 outings.
The 24-year-old Nembhard has come back to play in two games for Indiana but missed 12 straight from November 8-29 with right knee tendinitis. He did not play in Wednesday night’s game due to it being the second game of a back-to-back.
The 24-year-old Nesmith hasn’t played since November 1 due to a sprained left ankle. Head coach Rick Carlisle recently stated that he is still weeks away from returning. While neither of them are offensive juggernauts, both are capable three-point shooters. Nembhard really stepped up his offensive output during the 2024 playoffs.
The Pacers offense needs to go back to, or at least come close to, their 2023-24 levels to have any chance of approaching the success they had last season. It will help having Nembhard and Nesmith back regularly, but most importantly, they need Haliburton to once again look like one of the best offensive point guards in the league.
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