The Indiana Pacers began the season 2-15 and shared the worst record in the NBA with the Washington Wizards. They looked like a shell of themselves on both sides of the floor, and they had dealt with injuries to key players like Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Obi Toppin (and obviously Tyrese Haliburton, who is going to miss the entire season with an Achilles injury).
Given that they were just one win away from an NBA championship earlier in the year, this would normally be bad news. But not necessarily for the Pacers.
They're without their star player (who should be back next season), and a down year was always expected anyway.