PHOENIX -- Rick Carlisle didn't take much time to ponder a way to try to put the Pacers' six-game, 10-day road trip in perspective.

They finished with a 2-4 record on Sunday when they lost 117-110 to the Suns, a defeat for which there was little reason to feel shame. The Pacers were without All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton -- who is still managing his strained left hamstring even though he progressed far enough to register 21 points and 17 assists on Friday night in Portland -- and the Suns were fully operational with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Brad Beal all healthy.

Booker was dangerous as usual, Beal was sharp, especially in the game's final minutes, and Durant was otherworldly. The Pacers played with all the defensive presence Carlisle could ask for, especially in the second half when they held the Suns to 52 points. Durant, however, was functioning on a level only he can, knocking down shots for which there is no defense. The NBA's 10th all-time leading scorer dropped another 40 points on the Pacers, hitting 18 of 25 field goals, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, and he became the first player in Suns history to score 40 without a free throw.

"He's a very unusual problem," Carlisle said of Durant. "He’ll be up in the top five (In scoring), for sure, I would think. I thought we fought him hard and had some really good possessions on him. But his ability to just, off-the-dribble rise up and get complete clearance is special."

It was the second loss on the road trip in which the Pacers fought hard but lost simply because the other team had one of the best players in the world -- the other being their Jan. 15 loss to two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA champion Nuggets. In the other four games, they had one over-powering performance against Atlanta and another game in which they were overpowered by Utah because they were so racked with injuries. They won one game they should have lost, stunning the Kings in Sacramento, but lost one they probably should have won against the Blazers in Portland.

This trip, though, was more complicated because the Pacers changed dramatically in the middle of it, grabbing two-time All-NBA power forward Pascal Siakam from the Raptors for guard Bruce Brown, forward Jordan Nwora, and three first-round draft picks.

So rather than try to put all that in perspective in a cohesive narrative, Carlisle didn't bother.

"It's over," Carlisle said when asked how he viewed the road trip as a whole. "It's over. I'm not big on mid-season wrap-ups and analyze the last six games. The last six games are over with."

Carlisle was thinking more about the future, and more to the point, how to play his new hand of cards. Because getting a player of Siakam's caliber requires a coach to not only integrate that player into the team's systems and its culture, but to re-consider the team's strengths and weaknesses.

Carlisle is certainly pleased with what he has in Siakam, and saw even more that he liked on Sunday. Siakam scored 15 points on 6 of 14 shooting, showing the capacity to score outside and inside. His six buckets included two layups, three mid-range jumpers and a 3-pointer.

He also proves consistent as a creator, even as a power forward, as he dished out seven assists against three turnovers. And on the defensive end, he showed a capacity to keep smaller players in front of him but also to use the length to make it harder on players such as Durant more than anyone else on the Pacers' roster could. When he was guarding Durant one-on-one toward the end of the half, he stripped the 10-time All-NBA pick when he was trying to blow past and fought with him for the ball at mid-court until the clock ran out.

"He's a very resourceful, adaptable player," Carlisle said. "I can see that we'll be able to put him on a lot of different guys at a lot of different positions. He started on Booker in this game and ended up moving to Durant and other guys. Offensively, we've gotta get him more acquainted with some of the stuff we're doing and we're going to have to add some stuff that makes sense for his special abilities. We're studying that stuff now, but there's everything to like about him, really."

Siakam still feels like he's figuring out where and how he fits, which is understandable considering he's played in two games and hasn't had a practice yet. Though it was, on one hand, easy for him to jump in to the deep end because the Pacers are free-flowing and don't run a lot of set plays, it was difficult on another because they are able to flow most freely when they all understand each other and in particular, when Haliburton knows everybody's favorite spots.

The Pacers aren't quite there yet with Siakam.

"It's just understanding on defense, the little concepts," Siakam said. "Getting better on those, and then just on offense trying to find my spots. Talking to all the coaches in timeouts just to see, 'What can I do?' It's going to take a little bit, but I've just gotta keep learning. I'm going to see the tendency of the guys and they're going to see mine and we're going to get better."

The challenge for Carlisle -- one he seems to be embracing so far -- is figuring out how to re-consider not just the starting lineup but the rotation to take advantage of Siakam's gifts. The Pacers haven't been at full strength in either of Siakam's first two games -- backup center Isaiah Jackson has missed both with a concussion, Haliburton missed Sunday's game and point guard Andrew Nembhard missed Friday's with a thoracic spine sprain.

Sunday, Carlisle gave extended time to rookies Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker for a number of reasons. For one, he wasn't thrilled with the effort in the first quarter and wanted to put the young guys in to send a message. But for another, he wanted to play around with some ideas to get more size in the game.

The Pacers still had two point guards available in Nembhard and T.J. McConnell with Haliburton out, but there were times when Carlisle had neither of them in the game. Nembhard played 25 minutes and McConnell started, but was on the floor for just 11:50, meaning for more than 11 minutes neither were out there.

Sheppard, Bennedict Mathurin, Buddy Hield and SIakam all served as ball-handlers and the Pacers didn't have to put anyone smaller than 6-4 on the floor. The 6-6 Sheppard played almost 20 minutes and scored four points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and also registered two steals.

"It just felt like we needed some size," Carlisle said. "The bigger lineup had been effective in the Sacramento game. Sheppard and Buddy can both handle the ball and we had Siakam out there as well. And Obi (Toppin) can handle the ball too. We've got a lot of guys that play on the perimeter and the wing positions that can handle the ball and have good feel for the game. We have to take advantage of that."

That's a bit of a change in approach as Carlisle has generally liked to have two ball-handlers on the floor as often as possible. That's why he started Brown and Haliburton together most of this season and why he started Nembhard with Haliburton last year. But Siakam can operate as a point guard at 6-8, 230 pounds, and that makes it less important that there be someone else at shooting guard who acts as a second point guard. Size can be valued more.

That also explained why Walker got so much action. Walker scored 15 points in 19:33 in the win over Sacramento but didn't play at all against Portland. However, he played 18:24 against Phoenix and scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

Walker got so much time because he was actually operating as a small forward, something Carlisle had experimented with in practice. Listed at 6-7, 235 pounds, Walker was drafted as a power forward and that's where the Pacers expected him to be for their long-term plans. However, Siakam's addition gives them reason to re-consider where he fits long term.

Offensively, Walker likes to operate facing the basket and has since he played point guard as a high school sophomore at IMG Academy in Florida. He can bring the ball up the floor, he's an excellent passer, and over the course of this season he's become a much better outside shooter. After missing his first five 3-pointers in the NBA, he focused on shooting in G League games with the Mad Ants. He's made 36 of 74 G League 3-pointers (48.6%) and he's now 12 of 30 (40%) from 3-point range in NBA games.

"What I'm seeing is he's a guy capable of playing at 3," Carlisle said. "He has good size at 3. He's moving his feet and staying in front of people at 3 and playing with more and more presence. Those things are great to see."

The No. 8 pick in this year's draft has still appeared in just 15 of the Pacers' 43 games and played 165 minutes all season, most of them in games that have already been decided. Adding Siakam with forwards Nesmith and Toppin still on the roster would seem to shrink Walker’s opportunity even more and even set a road block for him. However, the Pacers still have high hopes for the 20-year-old, so they aren't trying to bury him, and small forward might give him a path to get on the floor.

"Once we acquired Pascal, you gotta take a hard look at how this thing is shaping up," Carlisle said. "With the realities about the importance of playing with size to being a good defensive team, it makes sense to put him in that equation somewhere. It doesn't mean he will always play 3. The more I'm going through this, I like playing with size, size that can move and make plays and stay in front of people is even better."

In essence, the Pacers suddenly find themselves as a team in transition. The Pacers players and the league at large saw the acquisition of Siakam -- as center Myles Turner put it -- as a win-now move. Siakam is 29 and on an expiring contract, and though it's clearly the Pacers' intention to sign him to a long-term extension and Siakam has indicated that he'll at the very least keep an open mind to the possibiltiy, there's nothing in writing at this point. But winning now -- as in right now -- is difficult when a team is acclimating a star player. Sunday's loss dropped the Pacers to 24-19, which puts them at sixth place in the East in a tie with the Miami Heat. They're still part of the five-team pack in the Eastern Conference playoff's second-tier, but they're now 2 1/2 games back of the Cavaliers for fourth, two back of the Knicks for fifth and just one game ahead of Orlando for eighth.

And there aren't any easy wins coming soon. Tuesday they play the champion Nuggets again at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. They follow that with a Thursday/Friday home back-to-back against the 76ers and Suns. That means three straight games against teams with MVPs in Jokic, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Durant. They finish the homestand against the Grizzlies on Sunday, who even at 15-27 are still a gritty opponent. They then go on the road to play first-place Boston on TNT on July 30 and the Knicks on Feb. 2.

In the midst of all of that, Carlisle will be trying to figure out his new team and how to orient it for the long term.

"We're still early in the process here," Carlisle said. "We're in Year 2 of a rebuild. Tyrese has accelerated it some, which is great. This Siakam trade accelerates it. But we've gotta look very closely at our roster and everything that makes the most sense."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Suns: How Pascal Siakam fits with the Pacers