A "big dog," to borrow Victor Oladipo's terminology, comes to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday. But the Pacers aren't taking for granted the victories over the less intimidating canines, either.
Especially when they come with such ease.
Their 120-95 victory over Charlotte on Sunday paired nicely with their drama-free win over Dallas on Saturday, making for a pleasant weekend that propelled them to a 31-15 record. Keep up that pace over 82 games and they'll finish with 55 victories and likely have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
It can't be denied the Pacers have lost to the previous three opponents (Philadelphia, Boston, and Toronto) with whom they're fighting for one of those precious top four spots in the Eastern Conference, and Wednesday's homestand-wrapping game against the Raptors certainly looms as something larger than one-in-82.
Still, the Pacers aren't in an apologetic mood. They don't believe they're playing anything close to their best basketball — not that any team in the NBA thinks that at this point — and they've already defeated the 76ers, Celtics, and Milwaukee. They have yet to beat Toronto, but had a 17-point lead in the third quarter of an earlier meeting that ended with the controversy of an admittedly blown call, when a foul on Bojan Bogdanovic's 3-point shot wasn't whistled.
"We need to take our homecourt and establish this as a tough place to play," Myles Turner said following the Pacers' fourth of five consecutive home games.
Plenty of opportunities for that are forthcoming. Golden State comes to The Fieldhouse next Monday, following by the Lakers and Clippers the following week. For now all the Pacers can do is prove themselves capable of beating the best, and Sunday's victory reflected the potential for that with the variety of gleaming stats popping out of the box score.
Nate McMillan, asked what pleased him most, found several even without his reading glasses. Namely:
Fifty rebounds (including 16 from Turner).
Thirty-four assists, comfortably more than his goal for the team.
Fourteen 3-pointers in 27 attempts.
One hundred field goal attempts.
Just eight turnovers.
"A lot of good numbers," McMillan said, adding his favorite was the final score.
The Pacers controlled this one throughout over a Hornets team (22-24) that had won its three previous games and defeated Phoenix 135-115 Saturday night while the Pacers were playing Dallas. It was another one of their games with the obvious storyline of an outstanding individual performance or a game-winning play, which actually is a good thing for them. At their best, they do it with balance and depth.
Perhaps the best way to evaluate them is by pairings. The starting backcourt of Oladipo and Darren Collison combined for 40 points, 16 assists, and two turnovers. Forwards Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young combined for a quiet 23 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and two turnovers. The center tandem of Turner and Domantas Sabonis combined for 25 points, 24 rebounds, and no turnovers.
Photo Credit: Jessica Hoffman
If there's an individual story to tell out of the game, it would be Oladipo's second-half performance. He scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with five assists and one steal, which was noteworthy primarily as a contrast to what had come before that. He had hit just 12-of-46 shots in the three previous games, and then 2-of-10 in the first half against the Hornets. That made for a combined 14-of-56 effort heading into halftime, which hardly qualified as conduct becoming of an All-Star.
He didn't claim relief from his second-half effort, though, because he hadn't considered all the clanks to be nothing more than a rough patch that most players endure now and then. Nor did he consider it a corner-turning experience.
"If that's what you want to call it," he said, smiling. "It's up to you. You guys write it.
"Even when I wasn't shooting well I felt great. I still feel great now."
Nor was McMillan particularly concerned. He's seen too many hot streaks and cold streaks come and go in his playing and coaching career. Tyreke Evans, for example, shot poorly for most of the first two months of the season, but now has reached double figures in six consecutive games after scoring 14 on Sunday. Darren Collison has had his struggles, too, but followed Saturday's 16-point effort with 19 against Charlotte. He hit a combined 5-of-8 3-pointers in those two games.
The Pacers' greatest strengths are their balance and depth, which prevents them from having to rely on one or two players for consistent shooting. They can win when Oladipo doesn't shoot well, and even when he doesn't play, as they proved with their 7-4 record during his absence earlier this season.
"It happens over the course of an 82-game schedule," McMillan said. "You go through a week or so where you lose that rhythm. Could be fatigue, could be a number of things.
"Our guys have been missing open looks. That's just a matter of staying with it. Get in the gym and get your eye back. Stay aggressive. Victor did that. He's been contributing to wins. Even though he hasn't put up the big numbers he's had assists, he's had rebounds, he's done some other things to help us win games."
All true enough. And Oladipo shows no hints of frustration. He was back to blaring music in the locker room after completing his interviews and the room had mostly emptied out on Sunday. Whether that leads to taming a bigger dog on Wednesday remains to be seen, but the causes for optimism remain in place.
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Mark Montieth's book on the formation and groundbreaking seasons of the Pacers, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," is available in bookstores throughout Indiana and on Amazon.com.
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