The Portland Trail Blazers return home from their Road Trip of Doom to face the Indiana Pacers tonight at 6pm
The Pacers currently sit dead last in the Eastern Conference standings, with a record of 15-48. Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tear, sustained in last year’s Finals, revealed his importance to the basic functioning of Indiana. Their sharp and sudden decline nearly warrants a retroactive MVP for Haliburton, who was apparently good for 50 wins all by his lonesome.
Beyond Haliburton, the Pacers have suffered significant injuries to many key rotation players. Obi Toppin recently returned from a 56-game absence due to a stress fracture in his right foot. Aaron Nesmith has endured consistent lower body trauma all season, leading to poor performances when healthy. That said, talented players like Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard have played nearly the entire season. It’s puzzling, then, how the Pacers can be this bad.
Haliburton occupied an interesting role as a non-heliocentric offensive engine. Whereas the James Harden’s and Luka Doncic’s of the world require the ball in their hands to score 1 billion points per game, Haliburton was responsible for the functioning of the team without demanding constant on-ball duties. Without him, the Pacers have lost their blazing fast, transition-oriented identity that made them so deadly in the playoffs. Their spectacular depth of talent, too, has begun to look awfully shallow.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Pacers have gone from one of the most prolific and efficient transition offenses in the league in 2024-2025, to a very, very bad transition offense in 2025-2026. They still attempt the most three pointers in the NBA, however their effectiveness from beyond the arc has cratered. They lack a clear structure or identity, and their wins have come on the backs of star performances from their remaining talented players. The Blazers, once again, have an opportunity to steal an easy win at home. There’s no way that I jinxed them with that one.
We have entered the dog days of the NBA season. The Blazers are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and the losses have been ugly. To summarize, the Blazers go for long periods with zero “oomph.” This manifests in a slow, stagnant offense where players who maybe shouldn’t be attempting threes are attempting lots and lots of threes. The injuries to Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija have sucked the dynamism from the Blazers’ offense, demanding their vets to step up and carry the team’s offensive burden.
Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant have been the focal point of the Blazers’ attack, as of late. In his last four contests, Holiday has averaged nearly 26 points a game on better than 50% from the floor. Sans a stinker against the Atlanta Hawks, Grant has posted similarly impressive averages, putting up 24 points a night. He also had 9 rebounds against the Grizzlies. Someone check the temperature in Hell.
Late in the game, though, the vets have not possessed the requisite firepower to carry the Blazers across the finish line. Against the Houston Rockets, both Holiday and Grant ran out of juice. Thus, the whole team faltered, scoring only 17 points in the fourth. To win basketball games, they need additional offense from someone. Scoot Henderson has decided that he won’t be stepping up to fill that role. Donovan Clingan is still awesome, but is limited in his offensive output. The remaining players on the roster do not have the self-creation ability to carry the remaining load, leaving the team to rely upon decent-to-good three point shooting to stay alive in the long-run. In other words: Deni Avdija, please come back.
Expect a weird one. The Pacers are not good. The Blazers, as of late, are also not good. Like a sloth without his retainer, this game will likely be a slow, painful grind.
Portland Trail Blazers (30-34) vs. Indiana Pacers (15-48) – Sun. Mar 8 – 6pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass or NBA TV everywhere else.
Trail Blazers Injuries: Deni Avdija, Jayson Kent, Caleb Love, Kris Murray, Yang Hansen, Chris Youngblood (Questionable); Damian Lillard, Shaedon Sharpe (Out).
Pacers Injuries: Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard (Questionable); Johnny Furphy, Tyrese Haliburton, Ivica Zubac (Out).
Scoot Henderson. This is a perfect “get right” game for Scoot, who has been very wrong, as of late. His struggles have clearly morphed from “his shooting has fallen off” to “his three point shooting may require therapy.” In other words, Scoot is in his own head. His offensive output is a liability. Over his last five games, he has gone 3-25 from three. Not great, Bob! Against the Pacers, though, who’s only notable rim protector is reverse dunk aficionado Jay Huff, Scoot may have an easier time getting to the rim and opening up the rest of his offensive game.
Jay Huff. Jay Huff is awesome. He may be the first player with a compulsive requirement to dunk the ball backwards. The final stretch of the NBA is brutal, with players clearly suffering from fatigue and daydreaming of Cabo San Lucas. Jay Huff is a beacon of light in these dark times, because you never know when he’s going to put on a random display of superior athleticism. His ability to stretch the floor with some regularity may give Donovan Clingan fits, however his Jerami Grant-esque rebound numbers mean Clingan undoubtedly has the advantage in the matchup.
