The Pacers finally broke their string of 18 turnovers. The problem is, however, the number went up — and not down.
A team that’s clearly a work in progress turned the ball over 19 times Wednesday night, one more than the 18 they had recorded in each of their first three games. 19 turnovers will not get in done in the NBA, and the Pacers are learning that fast now having now lost three straight games after winning on opening night.
The Milwaukee Bucks snapped a 16-game road losing streak going back to February, 2014, with a 87-81 edge over the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It’s the Bucks’ first win over the Pacers in seven tries.
“Just had a tough shooting the night,” Frank Vogel said after his team shot 39.7 percent in the loss. “… I was more disappointed in our ability to take care of the basketball. I thought that’s what cost us the game. 28 points off turnovers for them [was] too much to overcome.”
Not only do turnovers give an opponent a better opportunity to score, but they are valuable possessions the Pacers are literally throwing away. A young Milwaukee (2-2) team shot 45 percent and turned the ball over just 13 times. The Pacers only made them pay with four points.
The Pacers’ 18.3 turnovers per game average ranks 26th in The Association, just ahead of Sacramento, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, and Golden State. It’s an area that desperately needs improvement. Vogel hasn’t seen improvement in that area, but is hoping he will … and soon.
How does he intend to do influence that?
“Work on execution,” he explained. “Work on screening, spacing, reading.”
Solomon Hill, who has cracked the rotation and posted another career-high scoring output with 12 points, believes the players are comfortable with one other but that their chemistry and togetherness still needs work.
“I think we just have to understand each other and what we want to do out there,” Hill said. “We have to execute our stuff. We’re not executing as good as we should, and I think that’s where some of the miscommunication is coming from.
“We’re in the position to win basketball games at the end. Having 19 turnovers isn’t winning basketball.”
The Pacers went into halftime only down by five, 43-38, but the Bucks quickly stretched that by 10 more points less than three minutes into the second half. C.J. Miles kept missing shots, the team turned it over, and finally Vogel simply sent in a new group. The new group was led by Chris Copeland, who helped the Pacers to a run of their own. A rebound putback from Lavoy Allen trimmed the deficit to eight, 69-61, through three quarters of play.
“I’m just trying to stay ready,” Copeland said. “You never know what each game is going to bring. That’s been my mindset since I’ve been in the league. Just stay ready for whatever. My teammates screamed at me in the first half. Things weren’t going my way. Ian, Lu-lu [Luis Scola] came over and told me to be aggressive, ‘go, go, go.’ All my teammates ask me to be aggressive so I’m just trying to do that.”
Milwaukee led by as many of 18 points and despite 19 turnovers and shooting poorly, the Pacers hung around. Copeland connected on a 3-pointer, one of his four on the night, to make it a 3-point game with 42 seconds to play. Bucks guard Brandon Knight, who turned in a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds, answered with a long jumper. Then, at the other end, Rodney Stuckey missed a shot from five feet out.
Turnovers weren’t the Pacers’ only misstep. They shot a dismal 59 percent from the free throw line. They missed 9-of-22 tries and they only lost by six. 59 percent isn’t like the Pacers, but they have been faced with unusual circumstances and that’s forced players into the rotation and to new roles.
“We’re a lot better than that,” Copeland said as he shook his head.
The Pacers have dropped three in a row and the schedule doesn’t lighten up. Tuesday was the start of a challenging stretch featuring four games in five days, five in seven, and eight in twelve. With its core players — Paul George, David West, George Hill, and C.J. Watson — in street clothes, this group has been mixed and matched and could benefit from more time spent together and less games. But, as Vogel said, they don’t have that luxury.
Washington is Indiana’s next opponent, a quality Eastern Conference team who they ousted in the second round of postseason play last season. They’ll meet twice in four games, as the Randy Wittman’s Wizards come to Indy Saturday night.
Some guys have found their rhythm, others, like Miles, have not. That’ll come. But turnovers, an emphasis on every level, has to be atop their to-do list.
“We got to take care of the ball,” said Stuckey, who is nursing a sprained right foot but expects to play his normal 15-18 minutes on Wednesday. “We’ve been struggling with these games we’ve been having, we’ve been turning the ball over a lot. Taking care of the ball and coming out in the third quarter are the two things that we’ve got to focus on in the next game.”