Three things learned from Indiana Pacers loss to 76ers in Philadelphia

The Pacers fell to 1-3 after their first loss on the road.

Oct 24, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith (23) defends Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden (1) in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Stopping James Harden is difficult. Slowing down Joel Embiid is hard. Those are the tasks that teams have to accomplish when taking on the Philadelphia 76ers, but the Indiana Pacers couldn't do either on Monday night.

The Pacers went into Philly for their first road game of the season hoping to build off of their victory on Saturday. They started off strong, taking a lead later in the first quarter after a nice start from Buddy Hield and Jalen Smith.

But the 76ers fought back and crushed the Pacers second unit. After each team made some substitutions, Philadelphia rolled out a lineup featuring four bench players alongside Harden, and that group grew the lead into double digits. Harden finished the quarter with five points, four rebounds, and three assists.

The Pacers kept hanging around and eventually got the Sixers lead as low as seven in the fourth quarter, but Harden and Embiid dominated down the stretch and combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter. Despite double-doubles from Smith and Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana couldn't get it done against the previously-winless 76ers.

"Harden had a really great individual game," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. He also praised Embiid's performance.

The final score ended up being 120-106 even though Indiana outscored Philadelphia in the second half. There was a lot to learn about the blue and gold in this game as Philadelphia was their toughest test of the season, and they showed growth throughout the game.

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The Pacers will struggle to defend superstars this season.

Most teams struggle to defend the best players in the NBA. That's what makes them, well, the best players in the NBA.

But the Pacers are unique in how poorly they are equipped to handle some of the premier talent in the association. They have a lot of young, growing talent but don't have a defensive stopper. They lack strength on the perimeter, and the burlier players are too inexperienced to defend at a high level.

On the interior, Pacers bigs are either a little too slow or a little too weak to defend top frontcourt talent. A few members of the blue and gold can hold their own every so often, but those players (Aaron Nesmith, Chris Duarte, Myles Turner) fall short of being a one-on-one stopper type of player. That's why Embiid and Harden were able to score so easily in this game — they combined for 55 points — and why Bradley Beal, Keldon Johnson, and Cade Cunningham all played well against the Pacers.

Younger Pacers will grow on the defensive end, which will make this less of a problem in future seasons. But in the meantime, Indiana will really struggle with superstars.

Bennedict Mathurin's confidence will never go away.

At halftime of this game, rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin was 0/7 from the field and had just two points and three rebounds. The Pacers were -11 with him on the court. He struggled to score, and it could have easily shaken his confidence.

This was his first ever NBA road game, and the blue and gold were down by 18 at the break. It would have been easy for Mathurin to be passive in the second half and call it an off night.

But the rookie's confidence didn't go anywhere, and he kept attacking in the second half. He had 15 points on 6/9 shooting after halftime, and he nearly helped the Pacers make it a close game. Mathurin figured out what he can improve after the first half and applied it in the second half, which is impressive for a first-year player.

Even on what looked like an off-night at first, Mathurin's confidence remained. He has 89 points through four NBA games and projects to be a special player in the future. His confidence is a big reason why.

Jalen Smith is better suited to play power forward than center right now.

Jalen Smith started at power forward in training camp and during preseason play for the Pacers. He was growing accustomed to the position and role when Myles Turner got hurt on opening night.

With Turner sidelined, Smith opened the game at center in the Pacers first two regular season games. He finished that pair of battles with 18 points, and he shot 41% in the process. Indiana lost his minutes by 11 points.

Carlisle changed the starting five in the Pacers third game and moved Isaiah Jackson into the unit, which moved Smith back to the four. That has helped both Smith and the Pacers.

Indiana is now doing better in Smith's minutes (-6 in two games), and the third-year big man has been more effective since the change, scoring 36 points and shooting 54% since switching positions. He also has grabbed 25 rebounds and posted two double-doubles.

Smith is skinnier and nimble, so he defends just as well at both positions at this time. It's early in his third season, but right now, Jalen Smith is clearly better at the power forward spot than at center.

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• Tyrese Haliburton learning to be more aggressive for Indiana Pacers: 'He's an All-Star caliber player'. CLICK HERE.
• Myles Turner injures ankle during pregame warmups, expected to miss a few games. CLICK HERE.
• Goga Bitadze shows off growth in Indiana Pacers win over Pistons: 'I love what I saw from Goga'. CLICK HERE.
• The latest on a potential Pacers and Lakers trade involving Russell Westbrook. CLICK HERE.
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