What can the Indiana Pacers do better on defense this year? Well, everything

The Pacers need to improve on defense

Last season, the Indiana Pacers finished 26th in defensive rating. The year prior, they were 28th. In both seasons, the blue and gold were among the bottom-two worst defenses in the NBA after the All-Star break. They have not been able to get stops.

Some of it has been due to a drastic change in personnel across the last two seasons. Other issues have arisen from a lack of defensive talent, and at times a lack of effort. Whatever the reason, the Pacers need to be better defensively. They know it.

"Obviously, it's the defensive end," All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said of what the Pacers need to reach the postseason. "We're going to score, we've got the personnel to do that... if we get stops, and we can get into that top half of the NBA defensively, we're going to be in the playoffs."

Growth on defense has been a goal for the Pacers for a while. They stressed it at their exit interviews toward the end of last season. The last time Indiana had an above-average defense (2020-21), they reached the play-in tournament. They had a top-six defense in the season prior and were a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference. Getting more stops has led to more wins for the franchise.

When the Pacers were a back-to-back conference finalist in the early 2010s, they were the best defensive team in the NBA. The current era of Indiana's team is based on a high-paced offensive identity, but they have to slow down opponents to achieve their postseason goals.

"Defensively, everybody has to take more pride in guarding their own [man]," big man Daniel Theis said. He believes that the Pacers can't rely so much on rotations. They need to be a better one-on-one team.

They are working to get better in that way, and making other defensive changes, to improve on the less glamorous end of the court. Guarding your yard, as the Pacers have called it in the last few years, has been a problem.

They conceded a ton of drives and either had to rotate to slow the offense or just gave up an easy shot at the rim. Indiana allowed the third-most shots per game from inside six feet last season, and opponents made them at a better rate than they did against any other team. 

That's why the Pacers are doing daily one-on-one drills at practice. Bennedict Mathurin made the finals on one day of the individual contests, and Obi Toppin reached the finals a different time. The winner has been kept a secret.

"We gotta guard people. We can get into a lot of things with schemes, but being able to guard your position, guard your man, is an enormously important thing," head coach Rick Carlisle said. The drill has been helpful in improving that skill.

"That's what I spent a lot of time in the summer doing," Haliburton said of his individual defense. "Obviously, the better I am as the leader of the group, the better we will be as a team."

Individual defense is a skill the Pacers lacked. Internal improvement is critical. Adding Bruce Brown and Jarace Walker in the offseason should help too. Both players could be useful defenders this season — Brown already has a track record of being one — and that should help everyone when it comes to getting stops.

The Pacers are working to improve their team defense, too. They have been a step slow with their help in the past. Off-ball defense is just as important as on-ball in the spaced-out NBA.

Brown is a solid defender away from the play, as is Haliburton. Still, the team is hoping to take a step forward in that department this season, and some small schematic changes should help.

"It's already very different. I think it's for the better," wing Aaron Nesmith said of the Pacers defense. He was one of the team's better stoppers last season.

When asked to elaborate, Nesmith wouldn't share everything. But he did explain some of the changes. "Just the shots we're willing to give up," he said. "Shots we're trying to force guys to take. We did that today and we saw success from it." Nesmith thought that the team made strides defensively even from day one to day two of training camp.

The Pacers have gone away from having a defensive coordinator this year and instead are doing many tasks by committee with their staff. Jim Boylen, a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls, has a say in the defense and many players have discussed his involvement. But there isn't as much of a dominant voice on that end of the floor this season.

Changes can be good, as can skill improvement. But to the Pacers best defensive force, Myles Turner, their growth on that end of the court is simple. It's all about effort.

"The biggest thing is just going to be effort. I think we're held more accountable," he said on Tuesday. He is going to hold his team more accountable in general this year.

There isn't just one thing that the Pacers hope to do better defensively this season. There are many things. And they must get better at several of them if the team wants to reach the postseason.

"Truthfully, I think we need to stop talking about defense and start defending better," Carlisle said Tuesday. His team will get their first chance to do just that in their preseason opener on Sunday.

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• Buddy Hield discusses his contract situation and future with the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
• Myles Turner preaches accountability, ready for leadership role with Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
• Obi Toppin and Myles Turner are a growing frontcourt partnership for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
• Bennedict Mathurin to enter training camp as starter for Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
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