Candace Buckner

candace.buckner@indystar.com

Pacers at Trail Blazers%2C 10 p.m. Thursday%2C FSI

PORTLAND, Ore. – The gymnasium at Portland State University featured a rare occurrence on the NBA schedule — an actual practice.

With one day in between games on their current trip, the Indiana Pacers spent Wednesday afternoon behind the concealed doors of the Peter W. Stott Center basketball court. Through the months of an NBA calendar, practices can be rare occasions, but yet necessary, especially if you're the Pacers and need to work in returning players on the fly before facing one of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers.

On Tuesday in Phoenix, David West and Roy Hibbert formed the starting frontcourt for the first time in this regular season. Though the sight of the pair together looked familiar, the Pacers will need time — a luxury not afforded through the grind of an 82-game season — to fit the front court together among a newly formed starting unit.

"I thought they were a little bit out of sync, not just those two guys but that starting group," coach Frank Vogel said, reviewing the day after the Pacers'116-99 loss to Phoenix. "(The starting unit) has two guys who are in and out of the lineup.

"It's not quite where it needs to be, a little bit out of sync. (But) it's pretty good. It's not as bad as I thought it would be so far."

Vogel rather enjoyed the offensive harmony among his players on Tuesday. Early in the game, it was evident with West delivering a bounce pass to a cutting C.J. Miles for a baseline dunk in the first quarter and Hibbert, playing facilitator 5 feet away from the top of arc and lobbing a pass into Luis Scola for the layup and three-point play in the second quarter. However, those fleeting moments disappeared through the second half and even worse, the Pacers struggled in transition defense, again, and allowed 38 points on the break.

So on Wednesday, it was time to practice and the Pacers headed to the college campus for a workout heavy on Transition Defense 101.

"We looked at our transition defensive numbers and how we can improve and worked on getting back," Hibbert said. "We're a work in progress."

Hibbert could say the same about playing alongside his longtime front-court mate, West. Because West missed the first 15 games of the season with a sprained right ankle and Hibbert just returned from his left ankle injury, the two have not played together since the early days of the preseason.

"As long as one of us are out there, I think we bring a lot of effort and strength to the paint and post work so he helps me out a lot," said Hibbert who played 30 minutes on Tuesday and scored 15 points with 10 rebounds.

West has scored in double figures in his three games since his return but finished with only 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting on Tuesday.

"We still got to get our timing back," West said about their debut. "Get the chemistry and stuff going but it was alright, it was good."

Even last weekend, Vogel predicted that it would take "several weeks" for West, as well as recently activated C.J. Watson, to make a consistent impact after missing the first month of the season. Days like Wednesday can only help, but not even an essential practice can fast forward the process.

"It's getting there," Hibbert said, "but it's going to take time."

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

PACERS AT TRAIL BLAZERS

Tipoff: 10 p.m. Thursday.

TV: Fox Sports Indiana.

Radio: WFNI-107.5 FM, 1070 AM.

PACERS (7-11)

Projected starters

Pos. Player PPG Key stat PG Donald Sloan 11.3 5.0 apg SG Rodney Stuckey 12.4 2.3 rpg SF Solomon Hill 11.4 5.3 rpg PF David West 14.0 6.0 rpg C Roy Hibbert 13.2 2.7 bpg 6th C.J. Watson 10.3 4.7 apg

TRAIL BLAZERS (14-4)

Projected starters

Pos. Player PPG Key stat PG Damian Lillard 19.9 6.8 apg SG Wesley Matthews 17.3 4.1 rpg SF Nicolas Batum 8.9 6.6 rpg PF LaMarcus Aldridge 21.4 9.6 rpg C Robin Lopez 11.1 7.3 rpg 6th Chris Kaman 10.7 6.8 rpg

STORYLINES

Portland does just about everything: Searching for a weakness on this Trail Blazers team will take some time. Under coach Terry Stotts, Portland is not only an offensive machine performing as one of the best passing (434 total assists) and shooting teams (No. 1 in points off catch-and-shoot points per game, 33.8) in the NBA but also a stout defensive dynamo ranking tops in rebounding (854 total). The one thing to nitpick: Portland can't seem to find continuity beyond its front five. The bench has the fifth lowest scoring average, but the depth has not been a problem as the Blazers only recently had a nine-game winning streak snapped.

He said what?!: "He took 30 shots? Good, Lord!" – David West's reaction when he learned that his matchup, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge attempted 30 shots for 39 points in Portland's win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

Prediction: The Pacers' offense has looked lively and productive at times. However, since Indiana banks its future on the other end and just gave up 116 points in a loss to the Suns, the emphasis during Wednesday's practice was on transition defense. The Pacers could use the extra work in that department since they'll face another high-scoring team. Indiana could also use a repeat of their matchup against Dallas when they surprised the top-ranked offense with the convincing win. While they'll have some moments, the Pacers will not enjoy this trip to the Northwest. Portland wins 99-88.

— Candace Buckner