On Thursday Malcolm Brogdon and Goga Bitadze joined Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren for a post-practice conference. Questions surround the team as to how they'll perform in their first preseason game on Saturday. But both Bjorkgren and the players gave fans some reassurance about one component of the squad.
The defense is looking good.
"Defense is definitely ahead of the offense, which dictates how practices have gone," Bjorkgren said. "Offense is coming. We put more and more in every day. I think it's really important for a team to establish team defense first thing."
Brogdon went into more detail about what he sees on the court as part of the potential starting five.
"In the backcourt, I think we got size and strength, and I.Q. in me," Brogdon said. "And then we have an incredible athlete, and size in Victor Oladipo. So I think we can have one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA."
Brogdon then lauded Myles Turner, calling him the "best shot-blocker in the NBA." Turner finished as the NBA's most prolific shot blocker during the 2018-2019 season and was the fourth-best last year.
"From top to bottom I think we have really high-level defenders. It's just about Nate (Bjorkgren) getting us to defend together."
Even under former head coach Nate McMillan, the Pacers are often labeled as one of the best defensive teams in the league. Bjorkgren praised previous Pacers squads and elaborated on how he's going to make it even better.
"This team's been good defensively. They have. This is a good team on both ends of the ball," he said.
"I think it's important to mix things up during the game. I think you'll see us defend ball screens a number of different ways...and NBA players that you guard are very good. And if you keep guarding them one way, over and over, it's tough to hold them down. I think it's very important that you will see us playing different ways, guarding ball screens in different ways, and then just doing it as hard as we can."
Goga Bitadze Talks Transition from Rookie Year, Improvements
Things are looking bright this year for Goga Bitadze, the Blue & Gold's young center. The former 18th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft spoke to the media for the first time since the start of training camp. He had nothing but positive things to say about new head coach Nate Bjorkgren and the new style he's brought to the team.
"(He's) great. A great coach," he started. "I feel like he's bringing a lot of positive energy in practice. We move from one thing to another really quick. We don't really stand a whole lot in one spot. I mean, defensively, offensively, he gives a lot of freedom to everybody. That's how I feel."
Between the looming threat of the sophomore slump, the constant workouts, and now the coronavirus, life can be tough for a rookie transitioning into his second year in the NBA. Luckily, Bitadze was able to take a break and fly back to his home country of Georgia to see his family.
"It was great," he stated about getting the opportunity to visit home. "I haven't seen my family for a year, something like that. So it was really good for me to be able to see my family, my friends, take care of some things with my family. Just to be back home, relax a little bit. I really love to be out there in my country."
But for the past five or six weeks, Bitadze's been back stateside and hard at work. He spoke on his focus points during the abbreviated offseason.
"This offseason I just wanted to get my body into better shape to become quicker, more explosive," he began. "Which, I think I did. That's going to help with the game speed."
Last year, Bitadze mentioned the difference in game speed between his league in Montenegro and the NBA as one of the biggest obstacles he has overcome. A nagging knee injury didn't help his cause throughout his rookie year. But he's confident that he will be ready to go.
"These couple days (my knee) is pain-free totally," he said. "I haven't been able to work out like that for a long time. We did a good job in the weight room, getting my quads stronger so it can hold up. Hopefully, it will go like this and I'll be able to play pain-free, which I was not able to do (last year)."
Fans will be eager to watch their newly healed big man step up during his second year in the NBA.