Pacers vs 76ers: Biggest Takeaways From Frustrating Loss to Philadelphia

Matt Levine | 3 Hours Ago

Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers took on the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday and came away with another poor performance. They faced off against a 76ers team that didn't have star Joel Embiid or Paul George and they failed to take advantage of that fact.

Indiana led most of the way and cruised to an awful defeat in overtime. With the win, the Pacers moved to 1-2 on the new season and will now look ahead to their game with the Orlando Magic tomorrow. It's a quick turnaround so Indiana will need to be ready.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from this early season game with the 76ers.

1. Tyrese Haliburton bounces back but Pacers still need more help

After going scoreless in their last outing, star guard Tyrese Haliburton put in the work to help his team. He finished the game with 22 points.

The Pacers need Haliburton to be more consistent if they want to reach their ultimate goal of winning a title. He can't have a game like he did the last time out as he is the leader of this squad.

To his credit, he said that he would be ready to go against Philadelphia and he showed up. But the rest of the players couldn't muster up the same energy.

"We just missed a ton of shots and it starts with me," Haliburton said. "I ain't tripping. The great thing about it is tomorrow we don't play. I'm going to get in the gym and I'm gonna shoot. We're all gonna shoot and we're going to be ready to go on Sunday (against Philadelphia.) ... I'm gonna get a lot of shots tomorrow. I'm gonna get a lot of shots on Sunday and I'm gonna be ready to go on Sunday."

2. Defense still needs some work

Indiana has looked pretty bad defensively to start the year and they play the part again on Sunday. Facing a 76ers team without two of their three best players, the Pacers folded on defense.

With the way that the Eastern Conference and NBA as a whole is this season, Indiana has to figure out something. They can't go through the season expecting to have similar results as last season so a move may need to be made.

Indiana is a resilient group but that can only account for so much through a season in the NBA.

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