West, starters not ‘in any kind of rhythm’ as Pacers fall short against the Clippers

The numbers aren’t pretty. No, they’re ugly.

The Pacers (7-15) were outscored by eight points in the first quarter, trailed by as many as 20 points, and got as much offensive production out of the five starters as they did from reserve C.J. Miles.

Miles, who finally looks like the player they targeted and signed during the free agency period in July, tallied a season-high 30 points. He buried 11-of-22 jumpers, including 7-of-14 tries from beyond the arc.

With Indiana’s second unit trimming the deficit down to two points with two minutes to play, the Los Angeles Clippers (16-5) responded and scored the game’s final five points to earn a 103-96 win. It was the Clippers’ ninth straight victory this season, the fourth-longest streak in franchise history.

The problems began with Indiana’s starting five, where not one player was below -20 in the plus/minus statistic. Conversely, the five bench players were all at least +13 or above, led by Miles’ +23 mark.

“I don’t think they are in any kind of rhythm,” coach Frank Vogel said of his starters after his team suffered its sixth consecutive loss. “We’ll reevaluate what needs to happen either changing the starting lineups, or tweaking how we play that group to get them to play better.”

For the last four games, Vogel has sent out Rodney Stuckey, Solomon Hill, Chris Copeland, David West, and Roy Hibbert for the tip. They’ve obviously lost all four games, and have yet to click as a unit. That’s obvious.

“We changed our lineup, David is working to try to get his rhythm back, Rodney is working at the point guard spot and that groups not clicking,” Vogel said.

West didn’t look himself and managed just two points and missed six of seven shots attempted.

“Everybody knows a 15-foot jump shot from D-West he can shoot with his eyes closed, and you’ve seen him miss a couple more of those than you’ve ever seen him miss,” Miles said. “It’s just guys finding rhythm back and forth.”

West was very open to discuss postgame, as he typically is. (Thank you, David.) Talking for more than eight minutes, he first ruled out that recovering from a badly sprained ankle had anything to do with his play.

“Physically I feel good,” he replied. “The timing and stuff is a little off, but that’ll come. It’s more about just getting a rhythm, trying to find a rhythm, a pace, and sort of a good feel for the game.

“Just not in a good rhythm. Just haven’t been able to find a good rhythm and good timing.”

Defensively they’re out of sync, which makes things very difficult on the offensive end, West noted. He admitted that they needed to find ways to get Hibbert involved more, but mostly find some togetherness.

“Our chemistry is not very good with that group,” he said candidly. “We just got to work on it. Thank God for the second-unit guys keeping some of these games close because we haven’t been able to start the games well. We get down and really put the team in a bad way.”

For the first time since the 2010-11 season, the Pacers have twice dropped six games in a row. They were beat on the boards, in paint points, and most glaring of all, by the starters.

“Coach is trying to find a unit that is working right now,” said current starter Chris Copeland. “Are we not clicking? You have to say yes, we’re not clicking. We’re not winning. I’m accountable for that, but no excuses.”

The Clippers had six players finish in double figures, including all five starters.

In the battle of the starting fives: Clippers 73, Pacers 30.

“We got to find a way to be productive and we got to carry our weight,” West added.

The players, like their coach, remain optimistic that they’ll come around. Every one of the teams on their current stretch of playing seven games in 12 days is a playoff-caliber opponent. That certainly doesn’t make this current slide any easier.

“It’s frustrating,” said Copeland, “but I think in this locker room everybody in here has been through ups and downs throughout their careers. It’s just a matter of time. We’re not dealing with guys that don’t know how to play. We have really, really quality players in this locker room and I know this will be short-lived. We just have to figure it out.”

Miles agrees. “I think they’re just struggling a little bit like we were struggling in the beginning. They’re just going through a little phase. … They’ll find it.”

The Pacers will hold practice on Thursday and then fly out to Toronto for their first meeting Friday night against the East-leading Raptors (16-6).