INDIANAPOLIS — The dream of 82-0 has come to an end. The Pacers took their first “L” of the young season on Monday night, falling to the Chicago Bulls 112-105 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Despite the loss, the Pacers are 2-1 to start the season, and are showing plenty of reasons for optimism.
Some nights, the shots just won’t fall. That was the case against Chicago, as the Pacers only connected on 12-of-46 attempts from 3-point range. You could argue the “live by the three, die by the three” mantra is alive and well in the NBA, but the Pacers were still in great position to win this game despite the poor shooting.
“Honestly, I just think we missed shots,” said Bruce Brown after the game. “And I don’t think we played up to our speed. But we just missed shots. It happens.”
Tyrese Haliburton added: “I liked the looks we were getting for the most part. Those are shots we need to take. We had some key turnovers that cost us.”
The Pacers led 88-83 heading to the fourth quarter, but it was all Chicago in the final frame. Especially in today’s NBA, anybody can win on any given night. If you don’t execute, you don’t win that night. It’s that simple.
As I mentioned, it’s still a nice 2-1 start for the blue and gold. This season will likely be filled with ups and downs. For the Pacers to reach their goal of making the playoffs, they’ll need to avoid prolonged slumps and losing streaks. It will be important that a bad game or two doesn’t turn into five or six. For that, I think they’ve got the right coach in place. After wins or losses, Rick Carlisle often repeats these phrases: “We’ve got to put this one to bed,” and “We’ve got to learn from this and continue to get better.”
Carlisle has been around a long time, and he’s adapted well to the ever-evolving NBA game. After a pre-season game a few weeks ago, he was already talking about how tough the opening game against Washington would be, despite the projections on the rebuilding Wizards. This mindset will serve this young team well and keep them focused on the day instead of looking backward or too far ahead.
Why should fans be optimistic after three games? When you have Tyrese Haliburton (20 points, 12.3 assists) running the show, that’s a great start. Myles Turner (17.0 points, 10.3 rebounds) is playing well early on, and much like his pregame clothes, Bruce Brown has looked like a nice fit for this group. We knew the Pacers were deep, and it has shown. Through three games, the Pacers lead the NBA in bench points with 50.0 points per game.
There’s only one unbeaten team left in the Eastern Conference, and it happens to be the next opponent for Indiana. The Boston Celtics (3-0) will host the Pacers on Wednesday night. That will be a nice test to see where this team matches up with a top team in the league. After that, the Pacers will have a rare stretch of five-straight home games. They’ll look to take advantage of the schedule and bank some early season wins.
