Pascal Siakam and the Pacers are keeping their morale up… and their heads up

Pascal Sakak he is not the type to shy away from. Even if he finds himself alone on Indiana’s front line early in the season, between Myles Turner’s departure, Tyrese Haliburton’s injury and TJ McConnell also on the sidelines, joined by Benedict Maturin, interior of Cameroon still kept the house.

The Pacers still haven’t won, but they don’t need to be ashamed of their first three losses. He came close in the first game lost in overtime against Oklahoma City (135-141) or against Minnesota, quickly handicapped by the exit of Anthony Edwards, also shook to the end. Indiana may be 0/3, but the content is there, with new players coming in to help, and morale too.

“The effort put in was fantastic. We couldn’t have asked for more given the intensity and state of mind shown tonight. We have to continue to reproduce this,” Rick Carlisle nailed it.

Pascal the warrior

The situation remains delicate, but Indiana can count on Pascal Siakam to shine like he has since the start of the season and take his role as a leader among his teammates. Here he is already in two games with more than 30 points with 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals last night for him in 37 minutes.

“Pascal is a true warrior. His performance was outstanding. It was very difficult to get him out of the match and at the end he was very tired after giving so much the night before. He is a great player and a great leader. We need his leadership and talent, now more than ever.” added Rick Carlisle.

Pascal Siakam already impressed in the season opener against Oklahoma City, especially with this cool mid-range shot against Chet Holmgren.

And on this night, his run of nine straight points early in the fourth quarter got his team back into the swing of things, and it was him again who hit a 3-pointer to make it 110-108 with 42 seconds left.

Pascal, big brother

Inside is aware that his team is not at its best, but remains positive given the level shown. With his experience, his role is also to stay the course, especially since in this case there is no danger in the house.

“I won’t say I’m happy, but I’ve been in enough situations in my career to say I’ve seen a lot worse.” the former Raptors player slipped. “I feel blessed to be in this position, to have the opportunity to continue to show my qualities, to fight for these guys and give everything I have every night. I want to improve for them because we have a special group. We are in a difficult situation and we have to show unity more and more.”

The coin hasn’t landed on the right side yet, but the Pacers certainly aren’t about to give up.

I hope that we will have some respite, that we will be able to count on the return of certain players in order to show a little who we are, which is quite difficult to do at the moment.he added. “I told the guys that nobody’s going to complain about us. It’s the NBA. It happens. We had a great year last year, and now we’re going through a tough time. And that’s why we’re paid very well, because we have to adapt to every situation. For my part, I just want to keep working for my team.”

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.