From non-stop injuries pressing unfamiliar lineups into service to whirling through hyper-aggressive and under-baked coverages on auto-pilot, what happened to the Pacers this past season on defense, in which ratcheting up the pace became a necessary means to outrun the struggle to make stops, was the product of a confluence of factors — not the least of which included the vicious circle which appeared to exist between frustration over constantly shape-shifting schemes and waning effort. After all, when the Pacers surrendered 154 points on the road to the Washington Wizards on May 3, they didn’t just seem confused by their own misguided attempts at confusion; they also looked dazed, dusted in the open floor, with one problem arguably begetting the other and vice versa.
How to fix the Pacers’ transition defense
