Trading for Pascal Siakam did not fully revamp the Indiana Pacers’ defense. They ranked 22nd in points allowed per possession after his debut, and while their core lineup at full strength—Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Myles Turner—delivered promising returns during the regular season, the results reversed in the playoffs, revealing weaknesses galore, including a curiously bad presence on the glass.

Indiana does have other cards it can play as currently constructed. Mainly, it can try insulating Siakam less on switches and primary wing assignments. And even that’s imperfect, as Caitlin Cooper expertly explained over at Basketball, She Wrote:

“The obvious solution, as mentioned, would be to simply have Siakam guard the center position and switch on ball-screens, with Turner defending as the weak-side rim protector. While less frequent than last season, that scheme wouldn’t be entirely unfamiliar…That said, when disregarding that game as an extreme outlier performance (which, it obviously was), the Pacers allowed 0.828 points per chance on the season with Siakam switching as the screener defender compared to 1.243 with him chasing over as the ball-handler defender. In part, that’s why it’s difficult to assign him as primary against on-ball wing creators or versus Jalen Brunson in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. His isolation defense can hold up at times in contain, but he’s too easily screened. Put simply, he’s a big body, but he’s also a big target.”

As things currently sit, the Pacers feel overly reliant on Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith. That’s dicey on its face—eminently doable when they play together, but difficult to reconcile when separately and even in tandem versus certain matchups.

If expanding Siakam’s perimeter responsibility isn’t the answer, then the solution has to be grooming Jarace Walker as a wing. Personally, I don’t see it. But it’s tough to see anything in a 340-minute regular-season sample. Ben Sheppard, for his part, is scrappy as hell. He’s yet another player, though, who registers as a fringe wing.

And so, Indy’s biggest need is exactly what it’s been for a while: a combo wing standing 6’7″ or taller who can sponge up the assignments and defensive usage Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam and Walker cannot or should not.