Insider: Pacers reach out to NBA over officiating concerns

Show Caption Hide Caption Victor Oladipo talks Indiana Pacers fourth-quarter struggles Pacers guard Victor Oladipo talks about the team's fourth-quarter struggles

Pacers at Spurs, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Fox Sports Indiana

MINNEAPOLIS — Any time Victor Oladipo or coach Nate McMillan address what's wrong with the Indiana Pacers after a loss, or what they must do better even after a victory, the topic is defense.

It has become tougher to defend in today's NBA, however, with the new emphasis on freedom of movement by game officials. It has become so problematic that the Pacers have reached out to Kiki Vandeweghe, executive vice president of basketball operations, to voice their concerns.

"It’s going to be a challenge for the league to call it the same. We’re calling so many fouls, a lot of it off the ball, that even during the course of the game it changes," said McMillan, who lamented his team's inability to stay in front of Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague in Monday's 101-91 loss to the Timberwolves. "We’re trying to adjust to the rules with these touch fouls, grabbing and touching can be called a foul every possession down the floor. It would screw up the game. You’re not calling it every time down the floor, therefore something needs to change."

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The scores in these first few weeks of the season have been stunning: 149, 131, 126, 123, 121, 127, 128, 124, 140, 136, 133, 142, 143. Fouls per game have risen from 19.9 to 23.2 this season, which would be the most per game in a season since 1999-2000.

For three quarters vs. Minnesota, the Pacers weren't that bad defensively as much it was their offense. It’s a problem that sometimes comes with more offensive weapons such as Tyreke Evans and Doug McDermott.

The Pacers relied on too many quick shots with the ball never moving from one side of the court, which in turn would force the defense to move with it. That creates seams for Oladipo to drive, leads to missed assignments on rotations to open the shooters or generate mismatches because of switching.

Instead, the Pacers' ballhandlers not named Cory Joseph pushed too deep into the paint, which allowed the Timberwolves to swallow up them with their superior size. There were no passing angles and 3s in the half court sets were rare.

The Timberwolves are vulnerable in that area, but the Pacers couldn't figure out how to exploit that after the first quarter.

Then came the fourth quarter when Rose lived in the paint, sparking a 9-0 run to break the game open.

"It could be that," Joseph said about the freedom of movement emphasis by the league. "Our defense right now hasn’t been up to par with our rotations. On the ball it makes it a little tougher to defend because they call a lot of hand checks. We’ve just got to be even better at our rotations on the ball."

And it's not an issue limited to the perimeter. Pacers' centers Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis each had two fouls less than six minutes into the first quarter Monday night.

"It's kind of tough to play our defense if we can't be super aggressive and get into guys," Oladipo said. "They're calling it really tight. It's pretty tough. We got to find a way to show our hands and play hard and don't make it easy for the refs to call fouls."

The NBA has long shifted to a focus on smallball, minimizing the need for as many traditional bigs on rosters. If the way the game is being called now continues, McMillan believes it'll go even smaller and quicker.

"Now having speed is a killer out on the floor and trying to defend speed is a challenge because of the rules," McMillan said. "Now these teams with these guards just going and attacking, Rose and Teague, these little guards playing on catch, that's like the new athletic style of player that I think the league is going to take advantage of these rules. Speed, being able to recover and close out without using your hands? You can't touch a guy. You better be able to get down into a stance and guard it. That's hard to do."

Can the Pacers be the team defensively that they were at the end of last season, when they held the Cleveland Cavaliers to almost 20 points below their regular-season average in the playoffs?

Or based on how the game is being called this season, is that a sensible strategy?

"That’s always an emphasis," Joseph said. "You just got to get out there and really play. That's what I do. Play hard. Effort."

It might require McMillan expanding his rotation to deeper in the double digits, but that might be the only way to adapt in the short-term.