One other reason for their issues this season has been the decline in play from star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton started the year off very slowly and there was hope that he would pick things up sooner rather than later.

Tyrese Haliburton finished with 18 points and nine assists on Friday, but he struggled early and didn't feel like he fixed anything with his shot.

Last season served as a coming-out party for Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. The early part of this season is underscoring the challenges of sustaining that level of success.