The Biggest Weakness In The Indiana Pacers Surprising Start? Rebounding

The Indiana Pacers are off to a surprising 19-17 start to the 2022-23 NBA season, and they’ve proven that they can be a threatening team on any given night. They have already taken down four of the seven teams that have a winning percentage of 60 or better this season — while the Pacers are inconsistent, they can hang with anyone at their best.

A significant factor in their inconsistency, though, is their poor rebounding. The Pacers rank poorly in both offensive and defensive rebounding this season, and that defensive rebounding skill in particular has doomed the blue and gold — they rank last in the NBA in defensive rebound percentage.

“Right now, rebounding is a big challenge for us,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said this week.

“It’s an effort statistic,” the coach said when talking about rebounding earlier this season. He made that statement after Indiana gave up 29 offensive rebounds and 37 second chance points to the Brooklyn Nets in a loss on December 10.

That game is a prime example of how bad rebounding can lead to inconsistent play. The Pacers shot nearly 50% from long range and made 12 more threes than the Nets that night. They were more accurate at the foul line. They were tied in the turnover battle. The Pacers were more efficient and took care of the ball just as well as their opponent, but they lost because they were crushed on the glass.

That’s been a theme for the blue and gold this season. Indiana’s opponents are pulling in 12.3 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks second in the league. The blue and gold have lost seven of the 10 games in which they have given up at least 50 rebounds, and they have lost the rebounding battle in 21 of their 36 games. They need to be better on the boards.

“Just continue to defend. Continue to lock into the scout, continue to focus on their tendencies,” big man Jalen Smith, perhaps the team’s best rebounder, said earlier this season of how to be more effective on the glass.

Some of Indiana’s issues with rebounding stem from the fact that the team typically plays small. Since moving Aaron Nesmith into the opening five for Smith on December 12, Indiana is averaging 40.3 rebounds per game while their opponents are grabbing 46.3. They have outrebounded the opposing team just twice in that span.

That’s why Carlisle noted that rebounding is a challenge for the Pacers right now. The starting lineup change has worked, the Pacers are 5-4 since the switch. But it has led to the team being worse on the boards. Playing small has many pros and cons, and the biggest con has been rebounding so far.

Other issues on the glass stem from Indiana having poor rebounders at many positions. Myles Turner and Andrew Nembhard, two starters for the Pacers who are having great seasons, are not known for their rebounding. Reserve forward Chris Duarte hasn’t been as effective when grabbing misses as he was last season. Those three players play a significant percentage of Indiana’s frontcourt minutes, so general rebounding improvement from the trio would help the blue and gold.

The whole team can do better, though, and they can improve their focus on opponent tendencies, as Smith noted. They can’t lack effort, though. They don’t have the size or skill to get beat on the boards simply due to effort.

The other consideration for the Pacers when it comes to rebounding is tradeoffs. Indiana loves to run in transition. They currently lead the league in fast break points per game — it is a significant part of their identity.

Running ahead in transition often means that fewer players are crashing the glass. That is part of the tradeoff that the Pacers have to think about. A stronger focus on the defensive glass would cause the blue and gold to be worse when flying up and down the court on offense, which is when the team is at its best. It’s a tough balance of addressing struggles while keeping an identity intact.

That’s the question the Pacers have to answer. How can they improve on the glass without changing who they are as a team? What can they do better on the boards to ensure that transition play is still a strength? Some of it is effort. Some of it comes down to knowing the scouting report. But whatever it takes, the Pacers need to improve their rebounding. It will improve their consistency as a team, especially if they can do it without sacrificing their strengths.