As the practice sessions accumulate, so do the inevitable soft injury tissues.
For the Pacers, that means Domantas Sabonis has missed the previous couple of practices with a sore foot, and likely will miss next couple and perhaps the first exhibition game. It also means Goga Bitadze hasn't practiced the past week, and that JaKarr Sampson returned to practice on Sunday but is limited in what he's allowed to do.
Just like training camp in October, in other words.
"We knew they were going to be part of what we have to deal with," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said via a video conference call on Sunday.
McMillan isn't overly concerned, having been through 21 NBA training camps in his coaching career before heading to Orlando for the current season's reboot. Injuries are part of the landscape as players work their back into game shape, and some of them will be limited when the Pacers play their first game on Thursday against Portland.
It will be a mere exhibition and will be reduced to 40 minutes to account for the special circumstances in Orlando, but otherwise McMillan plans to approach it like any other preseason game. He'll work as many players as is practical into the game and try to re-establish team chemistry. He said he wondered if it would be a good idea to talk with the opposing coach to see if they wanted to reach agreement on an approach to the game, such as not pressing or working on zone offense, but has decided not to do so.
"These will be game situations that you'll have to adjust to and that's the way to go," he said. "It should be like a regular season game.
"It's about getting our guys back on the floor and getting them in some kind of shape and building some kind of chemistry in a relatively short period of time."
The Pacers took Saturday off from practice, then had access to the practice court from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
"We really haven't had a sloppy practice," T.J. McConnell said. "I'm really impressed with the way we've come out in practice."
Playing to the Cameras
A voluntary orientation session will be conducted on Tuesday for the players and coaches to learn the details of how the games will be executed in Orlando. No fans will be permitted inside the three facilities that will be utilized, but all will be broadcast in some form.
McConnell figures he'll have to make a major adjustment to playing real games in empty arenas. What does a player who likes to involve the fans do when no fans are on hand? Play to the cameras and hope to connect with them that way.
"I bring a lot of energy; I feed off the crowd," he said. "It's certainly going to be a change for me. I have to bring a lot of energy and kind of pump up...nobody if I make a good play."
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