The Indiana Pacers boast the league’s top offense, but coach Rick Carlisle knows his squad needs to improve on the defensive end in order to make a lengthy postseason run.
The Pacers’ ongoing journey to become a complete squad continues on Monday when they face the visiting Portland Trail Blazers in Indianapolis.
All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton averages 25.4 points and 12.1 assists to lead Indiana, which is scoring a league-high 128.8 points per game.
Haliburton had 26 points and Myles Turner added 23 in the Pacers’ 136-113 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday. The win earned Indiana a quarterfinal home game in the NBA in-season tournament.
Turner is averaging 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Pacers, who have scored at least 130 points in seven of their first 15 games. Indiana’s high-scoring attack has been presenting new challenges for opposing coaches.
Next up is Portland, which has lost nine of its last 10 games. The Blazers led by as many as 26 early in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday before losing 108-102.
Jerami Grant scored 22 points to lead the Blazers in the loss, while Malcolm Brogdon added 18 points and 12 assists. Shaedon Sharpe had 17 points and rookie guard Scoot Henderson chipped in a career-high 13 points.
Billups has been pleased by Henderson’s development over the past few games. He was 3-of-4 from 3-point range against Milwaukee after going 2-of-24 (8.3 percent) from beyond the arc to begin the season.
Portland continues its five-game road trip with a tough matchup against Indiana’s up-tempo attack.
In addition to proven scorers Haliburton and Turner, Pacers guard Buddy Hield has scored 73 points in his last three games while shooting 16-of-24 (66.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Indiana has also received a spark from shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin, who is emerging as complete player in his second season. Mathurin scored 15 points in the win over Detroit on Friday and was a key part of the Pacers’ defensive effort in the fourth quarter.
