Pacers take advantage of days off to continue working on new style of play

The Pacers have taken advantage of a slow stretch in the schedule to build on a solid start. Over the past ten days, the Pacers have had seven off days, allowing plenty of practice time to continue working through issues at both ends of the floor with the new emphasis on pace and space.

The fact the team has looked far better in their last two games is partly due to one of those games being against Philaelphia, but credit is also due to the preparation time.

"We've had a lot of practice time and we watch a lot of film," Paul George said. "That's Frank's thing. So we watch a lot of film, we see what's going on and we've had a lot of practice time to adjust and continue to fine tune stuff."

The Bucks felt the brunt of the Pacers analyzing and fine tuning what they've been doing. The end result was 123 points for the Pacers including 15 three pointers, most on open looks as the Pacers emphasized the space portion of their "pace and space" approach.

A sure sign of that preparation were the cross-court skip passes for open looks, plays that rely on the passer knowing where the open man should be and having the confidence that he will be there. Likewise, the shooter has to expect the pass and be ready to drain the shot.

The extra work also shows up on the defensive end, as well which Jared Wade is all over at 8.9. That's the nice thing about the current 8-2 stretch, there remain plenty of areas for the Pacers to improve. Regardless, this winning work in progress has been fun to watch.

Injury update: C.J. Miles tweaked an ankle in practice on Sunday but expects to play in Washington. George Hill is also listed as probable and should be back in the lineup after missing a few games with an upper respiratory infection.

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Check out the links:

Game Preview: Pacers at Wizards | Indiana Pacers

Pacers' Approach No Longer a Question | Indiana Pacers

Pacers Developing More and More Problems – Good Ones | Indiana Pacers

Paul George has another 20-point night | FOX Sports

C.J. Miles just keeps getting better | FOX Sports

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