CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Just how serious are the Cleveland Cavaliers about playing at a faster pace this season?

Take a look at the shot clock during practices for certain drills. It's not set to 24, the number of seconds per initial possession in NBA arenas. In Cleveland, the timer is cut in half, an idea that Tyronn Lue borrowed from former coach Doug Collins.

"We've got a 12-second shot clock, which is tough," George Hill said Saturday. "(Lue) does it to get the pace up, to get the ball up the floor, not a lot of dribbling. You've got to use the pass instead of dribble so we are just working on trying to enhance our pace. But at the same time get good shots."

Pace is the buzzword around training camp. Each player has spoken about the importance of it, especially with concerns about generating quality offense consistently. Tristan Thompson went as far as to say playing fast will be a large part of the Cavaliers' identity this season.

One of the biggest changes in the preseason opener was the number of players who grabbed the ball off the rim and surged the other way.

The only regular that hasn't been giving the full go-ahead with that approach is Thompson. Everyone else is being urged to grab and go instead of quickly looking for a guard to bring the ball up the floor.

"Getting used to this pace is going to take a minute," Hill admitted. "I think we hit the ground in Game One running and doing a great job on both ends pushing the pace but also defending at a high level and sharing the ball. I'm sure our pace is going to be better and people are going to be in better shape and we're going to figure it all out."

The Cavaliers ranked 12th in Pace Factor during the 2017-18 season. It's not a stat Lue uses. He gauges pace success with his eyes more so than analytics. They also took the fifth-fewest shot attempts per game, averaging 84.8.

The hope is to boost that number this season.

"We don't want to be a team that's only getting 60 to 70 shots per game if we can get 90 shots a game," Hill said. "Gives us more opportunity to score. But also picks up the pace and hopefully those teams that you're playing against doesn't train that way and you can tire them out. In the fourth quarter their legs are gone. We're going to try to figure it out and if it doesn't work then I'm sure we are going to make adjustments."

Lue said it's important for coaches to play to a team's strengths. He believes this collection is interchangeable, with numerous guys capable of stepping into a playmaker role. He may even take advantage of the increased depth instead of sticking with a tight rotation.

"I don't change because the league says or whatever they say," Lue said. "I do what's best for the team. Whatever that may be, that's what we're going to do."

On offense, the Cavs are steering away from the isolation-filled approach. It will still happen from time to time, as Lue recently pointed to Kevin Love, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman as players who create shots when everything starts to wither. But that's no longer at the heart of the system because they no longer have elite isolation players.

The Cavs want to move the ball from side to side, getting numerous players involved on each possession. They want to make quick decisions as well -- no more deliberating and surveying as the shot clock ticks down to the final seconds. Getting into the offense quicker gives them more options and counters based on what the defense eliminates.

Without constant movement and early offense, the Cavs won't have much chance.

All of these points of emphasis add up to the same primary goal: playing faster.

"You just have to get in shape to do it," Hill said. "I've been in situations where we want to play fast or play slow. It really doesn't matter. The good teams that do it are in shape to do it so we have to focus on that and make sure we're in great shape to be able to get up and down the floor and also play great defense on the other end."