They're choosing their words carefully, refusing to come off as offensive about their defense and say something that pokes a sleeping Raptor.
Something is going on, though, whether the Pacers want to admit it or not.
Toronto's All-Star guards, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, have not had All-Star caliber performances in their first-round playoff series. Splicing the argument along the lines of great defense and poor shooting is impossible, but the numbers provide a bottom line.
Lowry, who averaged 21.2 points on 43 percent shooting during the regular season, is averaging 15.5 points on 32 percent shooting after four games against the Pacers. DeRozan, who averaged 23.5 points on 45 percent shooting during the regular season, is averaging 13.3 points and needs the benefit of rounding up to get to 30 percent shooting. The two also have combined to hit just 5-of-35 3-pointers and aren't getting to the foul line with anything resembling the frequency of the regular season. They've combined for 42 free throw attempts in four games in the series, after getting 52 attempts in three regular season games.
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One would think George Hill and Paul George deserve some credit for all that deflation, along with others playing cameo roles in the defense of Lowry and DeRozan, but you won't hear anybody taking it.
"No comment," coach Frank Vogel said following Monday's practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
After a pause, Vogel's cooperative nature got the best of him. But so did his desire not to invoke the laws of karma.
"We're working hard," he said. "They're great scorers. Every time they shoot it, I feel it's going in, so we have to be sure we make it difficult for them."
Hill, meanwhile, is making no claims.
"We can't take credit for what we're doing," he said. "Our bigs are doing a great job, and our other wings are doing a great job of being in the gap."
The best storyline behind the Pacers' defensive effort belongs to George, who was in the same high school class as DeRozan in the Los Angeles area in 2008. DeRozan was by far the more highly-regarded player, ranked first in the country by one service and in the top eight in virtually all of them. He attended USC for one season, then was taken ninth in the draft by the Raptors.
George was more an all-area type player in high school, not ranked in the top 100 by anyone. His best offer was from Fresno State, where he stayed two years before becoming the 10th pick of the Pacers in 2010.
George is dominating this individual match-up so far, averaging 26.3 points on 44 percent shooting. He's gotten to the foul line 36 times, while DeRozan hasn't gotten there at all in the last two games. He's hit 8-of-20 3-pointers in the series, while DeRozan has missed all eight attempts.
George has little to say about all that, however. There's been no trash talk for his former AAU teammate during games and none for the media at any time.
"I know I'm going to get the best out of DeMar," George said Monday. "It's just fun competing.
"DeMar's good at this game. He's a great offensive weapon. He's been battle-tested. He's played high-level basketball for many years. He'll find a way to fight through it."
George says he hasn't even drawn inspiration from his long-standing relationship with DeRozan. He could put a chip on his shoulder, feel as if he has something to prove to the player ranked far above him eight years ago, prove to the world, even.
But, no. He's more grateful to DeRozan than anything.
"I did the proving part in terms of the work ethic leading up to where I am now," George said. "I worked extremely hard. Guys like DeMar were the ones who motivated me. Not being highly recruited, highly rated out of high school, those guys motivated me. To see what an elite player was in high school, I knew I had some ground to make up."
Playing good defense is hardly a new concept for George. He was a first-team All-Defense selection two years ago, when he frequently locked down some of the NBA's more dangerous scorers. He admitted during the regular season he hasn't recovered that part of his game after sitting out most of last season with a broken leg, but believes he's getting closer.
"I feel like I've made some gains," he said. "I definitely feel like I've gotten a lot better defensively over this past two-three weeks, but I still don't feel I'm as elite as I was."
Raptors coach Dwayne Casey might argue that point, at least privately. But he's more focused on getting his guards going again, particularly DeRozan, who has as many turnovers (13) as assists in the series. He has promised to find strategic ways to get them better shots, but otherwise has no choice but to cheer them on.
"They're our guys," Casey told the Toronto media on Monday. "They’re like your kids. You get upset with your kids sometimes, you argue with your kids, you go back and forth, but at the end of the day they’re your guys. We’re going to ride or die with DeMar (DeRozan) and Kyle (Lowry). Again, they haven’t shot the ball great, but its basketball. As a coach and as our staff we’re just going to put them in the best position to be successful, but again, they’re our guys.
"I don’t care what the numbers say, they’re still to me two of the best guards in the NBA."
Of the two, Lowry shows the better body language and says more of the right things. He was clapping his hands as he headed for the locker room following the Pacers' 17-point win on Saturday, and struck an optimistic tone in the interview room.
"I feel the shots I'm taking and DeMar is taking are shots we've made all year," Lowry said. "I'm five-for-whatever from three (5-of-27), but they're shots I'm comfortable taking. They're just not falling right now. I'm not going to shy away from taking them. The same thing with DeMar. They're scheming to make it tougher for DeMar and me, but at the end of the day we've still got to make shots.
"I'm still positive. I'm confident. We're staying level. We're not getting too high or too low. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon."
Not really. Not with the series tied at 2-2 and down to a best-of-three. No matter how you want to measure the remaining distance, Lowry and DeRozan will weigh heavily on the outcome. So will the Pacers' defense, whether they want credit for it or not.
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