A 25-point defeat! The dark horses in the Eastern Conference started with 2 consecutive losses: the strongman retired from injury again, Yang Hansen’s chips exploded

On October 26, the NBA regular season continued, and the Pacers challenged the Grizzlies away from home. As the dark horse Pacers in the Eastern Conference last season, they are no longer favored this season. After all, there are many injuries in the team. The offense was bleak this time, with only 3 points scored in the first 6 minutes of the first quarter. Fortunately, it recovered later. However, the Grizzlies' offensive state was hot after that, and they blossomed internally and externally to directly widen the point difference. They achieved a lead of up to 30 points, making the game lose suspense early. In the end, the Pacers defeated the Grizzlies 103-128 and suffered a 2-game losing streak.

As last season's runner-up, the Pacers' lineup has also undergone great changes this season. First, Haliburton, the backcourt core, is injured and cannot play. Turner, the interior core core, has left the team, and the overall strength has further declined. But even so, the first game against the defending champion only ended in double overtime, and they seemed to still have good competitiveness. Unexpectedly, they were directly defeated by the Grizzlies in the second game, completely passive, and finally suffered a 25-point defeat.

After losing to the Grizzlies, the Pacers suffered a 2-game losing streak at the beginning. They are currently the only three teams in the East that have not won. The other two teams are the Nets and Celtics. Losing is not the worst thing. What makes the Pacers even worse is that another strong player was injured. Marcelin retired early in the fourth quarter due to soreness in his right foot. His performance in this game was still very good. He scored 26 points and 4 assists on 8 of 12 shots. Once he is unable to play in the future, the Pacers will become even less of a threat.

For the Pacers, the situation in the new season is still very embarrassing. It is still unrealistic to be competitive. Maybe they can try to get a good pick and wait until Haliburton returns next season. Siakam was not in very good shape this time, scoring 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 5-of-12 shooting; Nesmith had 15 points and Toppin on the bench had 13 points.

The Grizzlies' No. 11 pick Coward had a big breakout this year. He played 23 minutes, made 9 of 13, and 6 of 6 three-pointers. He scored a game-high 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, with a plus-minus value of +36. You know, Coward was the bargaining chip used by the Trail Blazers in exchange for Yang Hansen. At that time, the Grizzlies had the No. 16 pick. In order to get the No. 11 pick, they also used a future first-round pick, and finally got the Trail Blazers' No. 11 pick. Now Yang Hansen is still fighting to enter the rotation, and Coward has proven himself to become an important rotation member of the team.