Last season was a huge letdown for the Pacers on a number of fronts. They were without fans the majority of the season, Nate Bjorkgren was worried about the “care factor” more than the on-court product and locker room cohesion and they saw their season end in the play-in game. Fast-forward to this season and it looked promising, Rick Carlisle was back for a second stint with the team, the early returns on Chris Duarte appear to make him one of the best draft picks in recent memory, especially by Kevin Pritchard, and the new and improved Gainbridge Fieldhouse was going to be a huge boost to the fan experience now that full crowds were allowed back. Except the fans haven’t returned.
It’s not just a few empty seats either, it’s thousands. The night of their home opener against the Miami Heat there were plenty of 24K Gold t-shirts still draped over the unoccupied seats. The defending champion Millwaukee Bucks came to town and tickets were available on the secondary market for $6 just hours ahead of tip-off. The Pacers are dead last in NBA attendance and it isn’t even close. The Pacers have averaged 12,072 fans per home game so far, the next closest is the lowly Detroit Pitons at 13,588, a difference of over 1,500.
The reasons for low attendance could be multiple things: the games are not readily available on local TV as Bally Sports Indiana continues to negotiate deals with cable companies across the state, we’re still coming out of a devastating pandemic that may have people hesitant in attending large gatherings, the team is off to a 2-6 start or it could be that the fans are showing their displeasure with an organization that seems content on running back the same roster that continues to underperform.
The Pacers are a small market team and have trouble landing big name free agents, they’ve told us that for years. But they aren’t helping themselves with sticking with the same group that continues to be unable to contend or stay healthy. They could have traded Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis and they held on to both. They could have been ready to move on from the oft-injured Malcolm Brogdon but instead rewarded him with a contract extension before he suffered a hamstring injury that’s kept him sidelined the last three games. The promise that Caris LeVert brings is encouraging but his devastating health issues have kept him off of the court more than he’s been on it. Same goes for T.J. Warren. Yet, the Pacers front office and ownership have determined this is the best path to….something. What exactly that is is anyone’s guess. Another play-in game appearance? Maybe an actual playoff series berth? A second-round playoff appearance would feel like an NBA Championship at this point.
One thing is for sure, the fans have seen this story with this group multiple times and have seemingly checked out until they see some sort of improvement. And given the status of their TV deal “seeing” any improvement might prove difficult. They’re never fully healthy, they always struggle with chemistry and they don’t put on the flashiest of shows on the court. If the empty seats remain, maybe the front office will get the hint but they’d be better served to be proactive rather than reactive. The worst thing that can happen to a fan base is for it to become apathetic. Through only eight games, the Pacers seem to be on a very dangerous path.
