Pacers’ defensive play earns kudos from Magic’s Clifford
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers defense presented another difficult challenge for the Orlando Magic.
The Pacers lot of teams.
They have held the Magic to 90 and 107 points in two meetings this season, and Magic coach Steve Clifford didn’t expect Saturday night’s matchup at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to be any easier.
Clifford applauded the efforts of Pacers coach Nate McMillan, whose team lost star guard and leading scorer Victor Oladipo to a season-ending injury in mid-January. But even without Oladipo, the Pacers have maintained their defensive identity, and Clifford said that’s where their success starts.
“They remind [me] somewhat of Milwaukee in that they protect the paint and yet they still cause turnovers,” Clifford said. “Most of the time it’s hard to do both, and they’re able to do that, so it’s hard to drive the ball or find ways to get the ball going to the basket. They’re in the passing lanes and they cause a do that to a lot of turnovers also.”
The Pacers entered Saturday’s game second in the NBA in opponent points per game at 103.5, but they also rank third in opponent free throws made (15.6) and are fourth in opponent turnovers per game (16.2).
So the Pacers keep opponents from scoring in part by forcing turnovers, and they don’t give up points by fouling.
Clifford said the Magic would try to counter the Pacers’ physical defensive play with fundamentals: setting up cuts to keep defenders off them and coordination between screeners and cutters or screeners and ballhandlers.
“You have to play with a level of offensive force and pace of play, where you have a chance to spread them out,” Clifford said. “It gets back to basketball basics with teams that are that physical.”
Back-to-back
Saturday’s game against the Pacers was the first of a back-to-back road set for the Magic. They travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Sunday for a 6 p.m. contest.
The Magic’s previous road back-to-back produced a 103-83 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and a 124-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Magic finished season 2-0 in Atlanta.
This will be Orlando’s 11th back-to-back set of the season. The Magic are 11-9 in their back-to-back games overall, 7-3 in the first game and 4-6 in the second.
The Magic will have two more back-to-back sets remaining: March 13 at Washington and March 14 versus Cleveland; and March 25 versus Philadelphia and March 26 at Miami. this
Oladipo update
The Pacers were dealt what could have been a crippling blow when they lost Oladipo for the season. The All-Star, who was the No. 2 overall pick of the Magic in the 2013 draft, continues to work toward a comeback.
McMillan said he stays in contact with Oladipo and talked with him just two days ago. He said Oladipo is in good spirits.
“He’s doing well, going through with his rehab,” McMilland said. “He’s still going to the gym and getting up shots. I don’t know how, but he’s getting up shots.”
The loss of Oladipo has meant a reshuffling of roles for the Pacers. One of those is Bojan Bogdanovic.
McMillan said the 6-foot-8 forward from Croatia has continued to show improvement and consistency but has played at a higher level this season. In addition to his ability to score from the perimeter, Bogdanovich has become more adept in the pickand-roll game.
“I’ve really asked him to do more now that we’re without Victor, and he’s just showing growth in his game,” McMillan. “He’s just making more plays, whether he’s scoring from opportunities himself or creating opportunities.”
Bogdanovic, who will be a free agent after this season, is averaging a careerbest 17.4 points a game and is shooting 49.9 percent from the field.
He has averaged 23.5 points in the Pacers’ two meetings with the Magic this season.