Five observations from the Pacers' loss to Memphis and Zach Edey that started ‘ug-ly’

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers were playing without both of their All-Stars and four of their top players on Monday against the Grizzlies in their first preseason home game of the 2024-25 season so it probably shouldn't have been much of a surprise that they took a 120-116 loss to fall to 1-2 in preseason play.

Still, it bothered coach Rick Carlisle that it wasn't really that close, that the Pacers fell behind big early with their shuffled starting lineup and never fully recovered. The Pacers saw some negative trends continue and a few more sprout up. Those issues may not translate going forward but they were enough to make Carlisle wish he could get straight to work on fixing it.

"We have a lot of work to do," Carlisle said. “(Tuesday) is a scheduled off day, as much as it hurts me to say that after this."

With that in mind here are five observations on the Pacers' loss, looking at what went wrong for them, what went right for Memphis, and what else was relevant for the Pacers as they head into their final preseason game Thursday at home against Charlotte.

Monday's first unit had a messy start

Carlisle gave the day off to All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, All-Star forward Pascal Siakam and veteran backup point guard T.J. McConnell for pure rest purposes. Small forward Aaron Nesmith, arguably the Pacers' best defender and one of their most physical players, was also held out while dealing with some ankle soreness.

Guard Andrew Nembhard and center Myles Turner stayed in the first unit, but it allowed for a momentary promotion for guard Bennedict Mathurin and forwards Jarace Walker and Obi Toppin. Mathurin and Toppin have started before and Walker is just over a year removed from being the No. 8 pick in the draft. All three of them had something to prove, but Mathurin and Walker did especially after neither played much in last year's playoffs with Mathurin out with a torn labrum, so they in particular had reason to want to make the most of a starting opportunity.

Instead, the Pacers fell behind 11-0 and were still down 18-9 before they made their first subs. At the end of the first quarter they trailed 31-17 and the starters were -14 at halftime.

"The first quarter was very poor," Carlisle said. "The guys who started the game pretty much eased into the game. (Memphis) is a smashmouth team that puts physical hits on you both offensively and defensively. They play a clean game, but it's a physical game. We got smashed in the face in the first quarter."

Walker acknowledged the Pacers didn't have the necessary energy but noted that it seemed like they got it back. They outscored the Grizzlies 32-29 in the second quarter and 99-89 the last three quarters. However, they made a lot of progress when both teams got deep into their benches and used players who likely won't have rotation roles when the season begins. All five of the Pacers' Monday starters posted plus-minus figures of -7 or worse. Nembhard was -18, Mathurin was -16 and Turner and Toppin were both -14.

"I feel like it was just our energy," Walker said. "Usually that's the one thing that we'll start the game with. We're gonna miss shots, we're gonna mess up on defense here and there, but if you don't have energy, if you don't have that effort we usually bring day-in, day-out, it's going to be difficult to compete against high-level teams."

The Grizzlies shot 13 of 27 including 5 of 12 from 3-point range and they outscored the Pacers 16-4 in the paint. The Pacers, meanwhile, made just 6 of 19 shots including 3 of 11 3s while turning the ball over four times.

"You don't have to get used to each other to go out there with the right attitude and the right disposition and the right mindset and the right physical posture," Carlisle said. "We did not do that. I can't read minds, but it looked like the expectation was, 'Hey, I'm gonna go out and get my shots and get into the game that way. It was ug-ly. It was ug-ly. Every one of their guys in there, they blew by us. They got offensive rebounds. The punked us physically. You name it. Everything was happening out there that we don't want to happen."

Carlisle noted Mathurin and Walker's struggles in particular. Mathurin scored just two points in the first half on 0 of 4 shooting and struggled to contain Desmond Bane on defense. Mathurin ended up with 12 points on 4 of 12 shooting, but he also had three turnovers and Bane scored 23 points. Walker finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, but 12 of his points came in the fourth quarter when he was mostly playing with and against players at the end of the bench.

"Ben and Jarace gotta learn from really the entire game but the first quarter more specifically," Carlisle said. "They're both smart guys, they work hard and they'll get better from it."

Zach Edey is going to be a problem

Carlisle noted in pre-game that he expected former Purdue star and 7-foot-4, 300-pound behemoth Zach Edey to be a tough cover for the Pacers and that they spent specific time working on how to defend him. There used to be several players Edey's size in the league but now with so many offenses built on speed and spacing, the traditional back-to-the basket center has become mostly a thing of the past.

But Edey showed more signs that his game will translate to this level and the Pacers had a tough time stopping it. Edey scored 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting with all of those shots in the paint and also grabbed nine rebounds in 19 minutes. The Grizzlies teed him up for some of those on easy dump-offs, but his post moves were tough to contain and even when Pacers centers Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman forced him away from the rim and made him shoot over them, he sunk 8-10 foot hook shots to get buckets.

The two-time All-American and consensus national player of the year who led Purdue to its first Final Four since 1980 was expected to be taken lower than No. 9 because teams weren't sure how well he'd defend in the wide-open game the NBA has become, but Carlisle came away believing Edey should have been taken earlier.

"History will likely show that where he was chosen in the draft was low," Carlisle said. "He's gonna have impact. He was drafted by an organization that believes in size and they believe in what he accomplished. Two-time national player of the year is a big deal. It's rare that that can even happen in today's world of college basketball. I have great respect for what he accomplished at Purdue and a lot of respect for what he did tonight because he put a will and a physicality into the game that we simply did not match."

Defense, as a whole, is still lacking

Nesmith is arguably the Pacers' best all-around defender, McConnell is one of the most renowned on-ball defensive pests of the last decade in the NBA and Siakam's length is a factor on the Pacers' defense, so the Pacers had to expect some fall off on the defensive end even though they haven't played great on that end in the first place.

Still, the Pacers haven't given up fewer than 117 points in a preseason game yet. They're allowing opponents to shoot 50% from the floor and they're giving up 57.3 points in the paint per game. Carlisle has said the ball pressure isn't where he wants to be and neither is the cohesion on pick-and-roll to keep the ball away from the rim.

"Our zone was very effective in this game," Carlisle said "but our man-to-man was not."

Ben Sheppard still has a rotation case

It was notable that Walker was selected for one of the available starting jobs Monday and that he was in the second unit Thursday against the Cavaliers and his draft classmate Ben Sheppard wasn't. Walker seems to have the higher ceiling thanks to his size. He's also younger and he was a lottery pick while Sheppard was taken No. 26 in the 2023 draft.

But Sheppard won a spot in the rotation last year because he was energetic, dependable, and efficient, and he is still every one of those things. And when the first unit struggled on Monday, Sheppard checked in for a spark and provided one.

Sheppard finished with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting, knocking down 2 of 5 3-pointers, and dished out five assists against zero turnovers. He got extensive work handling the ball with two point guards out and he brought defensive intensity as usual. He finished +13, the best plus-minus figure on the roster.

Walker might end up beating out Sheppard for what is essentially the last spot on the second unit, but Sheppard is too trustworthy when it comes the basics to be banished to the end of the bench.

Cole Swider seems to have the advantage for the last spot

There were minutes available on Monday for players trying to make a case for roster inclusion, and it was notable that of the two forwards likely battling for the last available spot on the roster, Cole Swider was the one who got real work.

The former Syracuse star played 22 minutes while his chief competitor Kendall Brown played less than four minutes. Swider's most important skill, his shooting, is showing up as are some others that weren't necessarily on the top of his list.

Swider scored 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 4 3-pointers. He also grabbed five rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers, posting a +12. Sheppard noted how impressive Swider has been noting that Swider is "shooting the (expletive) out of the ball." Brown's only shot was a dunk and he was +3 in his limited minutes, but Swider's outside shooting gives him an edge because it gives them something they don't have elsewhere at the end of the bench.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Five observations from the Pacers' loss to Memphis and Zach Edey that started ‘ug-ly’