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Pascal Siakam hosting and motivating Indiana Pacers teammates for minicamp in Orlando

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Pascal Siakam hosting and motivating Indiana Pacers teammates for minicamp in Orlando


Pascal Siakam is nearing the end of his first full offseason with the Indiana Pacers, and he’s flashing his off-court value. The two-time All-Star, who was traded to Indiana back in January, is hosting his teammates for a mini camp in Orlando ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Indiana’s head coach Rick Carlisle spoke about the minicamp on 107.5 The Fan Tuesday morning. He said that 18 or 19 players are participating, and the event is being held essentially at Siakam’s home. Earlier in the offseason, the two-time All-NBA forward posted a few videos training with younger Pacers players. This time, more of the roster is together.

Last year, the team went to Nashville, Tennessee for a minicamp ahead of the season. They discussed their goals for the campaign and what it would take to get there, and they relied on the veteran leadership of 2023 NBA Champion Bruce Brown to prepare for the coming campaign.

This year, it’s Siakam taking on a leadership role — fittingly, a player that Brown was traded for. “The fact that we have more continuity is great. It’s a players only retreat in Orlando,” Carlisle said. The head coach shared that Siakam has a separate building by his house with a court that can be used for training. “It is a beautiful facility,” Carlisle said.

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He then detailed that there’s a strength training area at the facility and that it could host a real NBA training camp if need be. The players organized this trip on their own — it’s a players-only camp, Indiana’s coaches are also doing their coaching meetings ahead of the coming campaign.

Siakam took on a leadership role in the postseason for the Pacers last year. He wanted to lead by example. In the past, he won a title and has earned individual accolades. He’s been where the rest of the Pacers want to be, and he’s powered through low points in his career.

He’s also fallen short after tremendous seasons. The Raptors haven’t made it back to the conference finals after winning the Finals in 2019. Siakam and his team wanted more, but it never happened. He knows what it takes to get back to high highs, and he’s sharing that wisdom with the Pacers.

“We can’t go into [the season] thinking ‘Oh, we did so well last year. We got to the Eastern Conference Finals, and we’re going to be back at it’. It doesn’t work like that,” Siakam told his teammates, per a video he posted on his Twitter feed. “Have the mindset from the beginning that whatever we did last year, we’re going to have to do that sh*t triple to even get to where we were at last year. Just continue to f**king build on that.”

Siakam noted that the Pacers still have to hunt. They can’t be the hunted even after a lengthy playoff run. He doesn’t want his team to get comfortable.

Their quest to do what they did last season starts in Orlando. The team was seen together at a WWE event Tuesday night as they continue to bond, an important part of the minicamp experience. They’ll eat as a group and learn more about each other — especially the new guys in James Wiseman, Cole Swider, and the 2024 draft class.

Siakam recalled getting somewhat complacent after a title with the Raptors and thinking the team would get back to that high peak at some point. It didn’t happen. Now, he’s worked hard to be a talented enough player that can help guide a team to postseason series wins. He wants the Pacers to get there again, and if they do, it will have all started at this minicamp in Orlando.





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Indiana

New Orleans takes on Indiana, seeks to end 4-game slide

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New Orleans takes on Indiana, seeks to end 4-game slide


Associated Press

New Orleans Pelicans (4-13, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (7-10, ninth in the Eastern Conference)

Indianapolis; Monday, 7 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pacers -5.5; over/under is 228

BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans heads into the matchup against Indiana as losers of four straight games.

The Pacers are 5-2 in home games. Indiana ranks fifth in the league with 17.0 fast break points per game led by Bennedict Mathurin averaging 4.5.

The Pelicans have gone 1-7 away from home. New Orleans averages 14.2 turnovers per game and is 3-4 when turning the ball over less than opponents.

The Pacers are shooting 48.7% from the field this season, 0.2 percentage points higher than the 48.5% the Pelicans allow to opponents. The Pacers average 103.8 points per game, 14.3 fewer points than the 118.1 the Pacers allow to opponents.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam is averaging 20.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Pacers.

Brandon Ingram is scoring 22.9 points per game and averaging 5.8 rebounds for the Pelicans.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pacers: 4-6, averaging 111.7 points, 38.9 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 9.0 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.5 points per game.

Pelicans: 1-9, averaging 100.2 points, 42.7 rebounds, 23.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.7 points.

INJURIES: Pacers: Aaron Nesmith: out (ankle), Andrew Nembhard: out (knee), Isaiah Jackson: out for season (calf), James Wiseman: out for season (calf), Ben Sheppard: out (oblique).

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Pelicans: Zion Williamson: out (hamstring), Yves Missi: day to day (shoulder), CJ McCollum: day to day (thigh), Herbert Jones: out (shoulder ), Dejounte Murray: day to day (hand), Jose Alvarado: out (hamstring).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Wizards Drop 11th Straight in Loss vs. Pacers

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Wizards Drop 11th Straight in Loss vs. Pacers


The Washington Wizards are still in the loss column after falling to the Indiana Pacers 115-103 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday evening.

The Wizards remained competitive throughout the game, especially after the first half when they led by two points going into halftime.

However, the Pacers pulled ahead in the second half and were able to cruise to a double-digit victory.

The Pacers had seven players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 22 points from Pascal Siakam. Myles Turner had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

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The Wizards were sorely missing their leading scorer in Jordan Poole, who was ruled out prior to the game with a hip injury. That put Kyshawn George into the starting lineup, where he scored 15 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.

All five starters scored in double figures with Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr scoring 17 points apiece for the team-high.

With 11 consecutive losses, the Wizards remain at the bottom of the NBA standings, but there are some positives that the team will walk away with.

The Wizards will look to snap their losing streak back at home on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.

Make sure you bookmark Washington Wizards on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Weirdo Sports Columnist Gregg Doyel Gets Worked Up Over Ohio State Dominating Indiana, Gets Eviscerated On X

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Weirdo Sports Columnist Gregg Doyel Gets Worked Up Over Ohio State Dominating Indiana, Gets Eviscerated On X


It’s a day that ends in the letter ‘y,’ so Indy Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel is acting strange online. Thankfully, this scenario has nothing to do with him acting creepy towards WNBA star Caitlin Clark, but instead, centers around the Ohio State Buckeyes blowing out the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.

For anyone who may have forgotten, Doyel stole the show during Clark’s introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever by making the scene all about himself in one of the strangest moves ever seen in a media setting.

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Doyel introduced himself to Clark by saying “Real quick, let me do this,” before reportedly forming a heart with his hands, a gesture Clark does towards her family after games.

Clark replied by very awkwardly asking “You like that?” before things got even weirder.

“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here,” Doyel responded. “Yeah, I do that at my family after every game, so it’s very cool,” Clark replied. 

“Okay, start doing it to me, and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel replied back.

Long story short, Doyel later apologized for his creepy actions but was ultimately suspended by the Indy Star for two weeks.

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Naturally, each time he shares his opinion on social media nowadays, he gets chirped into oblivion and Saturday was no exception.

Doyel took serious offense to Ohio State scoring a touchdown with 35 seconds left in regulation to ultimately cap off its win over Indiana 38-15. He specifically didn’t appreciate Ohio State quarterback Will Howard celebrating the nail-in-the-coffin touchdown by putting out a fake cigarette to mock Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.

Doyel taking offense to a 23-year-old college quarterback celebrating a monumental win over an undefeated Indiana team is odd behavior, and folks in his mentions were sure to point out that fact.

Ohio State virtually guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff with the win over Indiana, and the Hoosiers should be safe as well, barring a colossal loss to Purdue to close out the regular season.





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