Indiana Pacers defense, minus two important pieces, not enough once again vs Toronto Raptors

The Pacers defensive rating is currently the worst in the NBA

The calendar has reached Thanksgiving, and the Indiana Pacers officially have the worst defense in the NBA. Entering Wednesday night, they were 29th, but a Charlotte Hornets win over the Washington Wizards with decent defense combined with Indiana's loss to the Toronto Raptors has the Pacers now as the 30th rated defense.

Granted, the Pacers are 8-6 and have the league's best offense. They aren't a bad team. But they are awful on defense, and that has been the difference between eight wins and somewhere between 10 and 12 so far this season.

On Wednesday, the Pacers fell to the Raptors 132-131. 131 points should have been enough to win against a Toronto team that ranks 24th in offensive rating, but the blue and gold couldn't stop them. Canada's team scored 64 points in the paint, shot better than 40% from long range, and drew 24 fouls. 24 fouls was the second-most by a Raptors opponent all season, and their 30 free throw attempts were also the second-highest total they have reached in 2023-24.

"At times, when we needed to be solid with the ball and solid defensively, we had struggles at untimely moments. It cost us," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game.

As it stands right now, the blue and gold are giving up the second-highest free throw rate in the league while also allowing the seventh-best effective field goal percentage. They have tried to outscore teams all season, and that has mostly worked. It's a part of their identity. But even going from last to 22nd on defense would make Indiana far more threatening.

Small defensive improvements would have earned them a win over Toronto, too. They only needed one more stop to get it done, but they couldn't find it. Before the game, Carlisle discussed the challenges of playing fast and defending well, noting that it's a constant objective for the coaching staff to figure out. They're trying to get better on the defensive end every day.

They've had a few games with good-enough defense, but they need more. Against Chicago, Cleveland (twice), San Antonio, and Utah, Indiana had solid defensive outings. They went 4-1 in those games. They still had a below-average defense on some of those nights, but that's more than enough to win with their offense. In other games, they've struggled to get stops.

Last night's battle with the Raptors is included in that mix. The Pacers struggled with the Raptors big wings and forwards, and their double teams weren't executed well enough throughout the night. Buddy Hield noted the team's struggles against Toronto's frontcourt postgame, and he added that the team had communication breakdowns.

Tyrese Haliburton agreed. "[Pascal Siakam] was tough for us to guard. Big wings have been a struggle for us all year," Haliburton said. Bigger wing players have been difficult for the blue and gold since they lost Taddeus Young in 2019. T.J. Warren and Torrey Craig have been their best wing stoppers since then outside of the current roster. "Ultimately, it came down to just, we got outrebounded by 15 [and] didn't get enough stops when we needed to," Haliburton added.

Haliburton mentioned that the Pacers weren't finishing possessions on defense either, and Toronto pulled in 13 offensive rebounds. That's been a problem a few times for Indiana this season — they are allowing the 10th-most offensive rebounds per game.

In general, they need to communicate better on defense. A few players shared that they noticed connectivity lapses Wednesday night, and a young team executing a new scheme can't afford to have preventable mistakes like miscommunications.

"We didn't get timely stops that we needed," Hield said. "We needed to execute on defense."

Myles Turner, the team's defensive anchor, agreed. "We switched a lot today. They took full advantage of our switching," he said, before noting that communication needed to be better. He took responsibility for a late error he had on defense that gave Toronto a free lane to the rim for a clutch bucket.

Altogether, the Pacers know that they need to be better on the less glamorous end of the court. It's difficult given their identity and pace, but they have talked about the need to communicate, grab rebounds, foul less, and in general just be more solid on defense. The Raptors attacked many of those weak points.

The Pacers were without two of their best defenders in Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith on Wednesday. That hurt big time. Nesmith would have been a great piece to have against Toronto's wings, and Nembhard could have given the Raptors guards a tougher night. Missing them made things more difficult.

"They're two of our elite defenders, so not having them hurt," Haliburton said. "We wish we could have those guys, but the thing we messed up is communication," Hield added.

Hield's point is crucial. Yes, Indiana was missing talent, but they still needed to be better. It cost them a win in a game that they had chances to take.

If the Pacers want to be great, their elite offense can only get them so far. Their defense needs to take a step forward, and there are many areas that they can improve to see that defensive growth.

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