Through five games, the Pacers' defense has been an embarrassment. That's how Paul George describes it, anyway, and he knows from personal experience what a good defense looks like.
The good news? The embarrassment part of it, actually. The cringe-worthy video review of Thursday's 125-107 loss at Milwaukee led to a dedicated practice on Friday, which they hope will lead to a more dedicated effort in their game against Chicago on Saturday.
"We had a focus today," George said. "We watched film and we were embarrassed. There was a sharpness, there was a high level of sharpness that we haven't had in awhile."
The sharpness will need to come at both ends of the court. Quick shots on offense are leading to easy transition baskets for the opponents, and having to take the ball out of the net after those baskets has slowed the offense. The Pacers are averaging 109.4 points a game even with point guard Jeff Teague going through an early slump, but that bandage hasn't been enough to stop the bloodletting that comes when you're allowing 115 points per game.
Toward the end, coach Nate McMillan is calling for a slower pace on offense. The Pacers won't be walking the ball up the court, but he wants them to be more careful about taking quick shots – especially 3-pointers – that lead to long rebounds that set up fastbreak opportunities.
"We do have to slow down a little bit offensively, because we're defending a ton of possessions," McMillan said. "When you're playing fast and taking quick shots, that puts your defense in a bad position. No question about it, we have to look at our tempo on the offensive end of the floor. I think it plays a part in how you defend."
That's not to say the defense they're playing in the halfcourt, with all five players in established positions, has been great. The Pacers are allowing more than 31 3-pointers a game, most in the NBA, and giving up 35 percent accuracy. They're also failing to prevent penetration, a double-whammy certain to lead to a landslide.
Friday's practice focused on the fundamentals of positioning and weakside help.
"Just the basics of working your behind off to keep that ball in front of you," McMillan said. "And if we have breakdowns, you're covering for each other."
McMillan finds some comfort in the fact the shortcomings can be corrected with better execution and effort. He believes his players are capable of defending well enough to take advantage of their offensive output, but they'll need more commitment.
"The film don't lie," Al Jefferson said. "We saw we're not being tough enough. We didn't start that game ready to play last night. For whatever reason. That's something we have to improve on. We can't have those type of letdowns.
"We just have to get that grind back."
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George knows all about the necessary grind. He played on a Pacers team in 2012-13 that allowed just 90.7 points per game. It played much slower offensively, which limited defensive possessions, but it also excelled in the halfcourt. That same group allowed 92.3 points the following season, when George was named All-Defensive First Team.
George didn't expect this made-over roster to match that kind of execution right out of the box, but he expected better than this.
"I'm not surprised by it," he said. "I'm concerned about it. We've got the guys to do it, we just haven't been doing it.
"I thought we had the potential of being one of the best defensive groups since I've been here. We've got the guys. I don't know why we're not pushing the envelope to be the best defensive team we can be."
If better offense leads to better defense, one encouraging sign came out of Thursday's loss in Milwaukee. Jeff Teague showed signs of life, scoring 16 points. He hit just 4-of-11 shots, but that was drastic improvement over his first four games, when he combined to hit just 11-of-50 field goal attempts and average 8.3 points. He had passed up a few shots in Tuesday's win over the Lakers and was still hesitant at times in Milwaukee, but less so after hitting a 3-pointer on the Pacers' first possession.
Teague put in extra work on his shot on Friday, and was the second-to-last player off the practice court, ahead of only Rodney Stuckey.
"Sometimes you just go through those slumps," Teague said. "The first couple of threes I shot this year went in and out, so it felt good. You know, it happens. It sucks that it happens at the beginning of the season, but you just have to keep working and put in some extra work in the gym."
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