Candace Buckner

IndyStar

Pacers at Pelicans, 8 p.m. Friday, FSI

NEW ORLEANS — For the disciples of the Indiana Pacers' smash-mouth culture, their faithfulness remains strong to the traditional "two bigs" lineup.

“We can still play the same way we want to play, which is playing faster,” Paul George said Wednesday after the Pacers started center Ian Mahinmi and power forward Lavoy Allen and defeated the Orlando Magic. “With having two bigs out there, certainly that’s when we’re at our best.”

George’s statement rings true if the conversation starts with defense. When the Pacers (20-15) revert to the big lineup and start Mahinmi and Allen alongside George, Monta Ellis and George Hill, it is producing an exceptional 80.6 defensive rating, a statistic that measures points allowed per 100 possessions. By comparison, the smaller lineup is allowing 106.7.

However, when considering offense — the end of the floor in which the organization primarily focused on during the offseason — if the Pacers go big and eschew the spread lineup, then they’re far from their “best.”

Offensive statistics have plummeted whenever Indiana has played the starting unit that includes Allen and Mahinmi, the second-most used lineup at 140 minutes this season.

Recalling the nostalgia of the smash-mouth era — which is to say low scoring, grind-it-out displays of tepid offense — the Hill-Ellis-George-Allen-Mahinmi lineup shoots 42.9 percent from the floor, three percentage points lower compared to the space-and-pace crew with C.J. Miles as the four. Also, the bigger group attempts less free throws, turns the ball over at the highest rate of the Pacers’ five-man units that have played 30 or more minutes together and generates just a 95.8 offensive rating. (It's 101.7 with the smaller unit.)

Defense powers Pacers over the Magic

Not that the bigs are to blame for the poor shooting — on nights like Wednesday, George and Ellis shared as many 3-point attempts (11) as the combined shot total for Allen and Mahinmi. Even so, the offense slows down with two bigs on the floor partially because the ball stops moving.

“There have been times when we’ve looked good both ways, defensively and offensively,” Mahinmi said. “We do show spurts where we do move the ball well and we hit shots. It looks good. And then there are times when we’re looking at each other, trying to figure out, ‘What should we do?’ The flow of the game is a little up and down.”

Scoring comes easier when the ball doesn’t stick but this season, the Pacers are tied for the second-highest frequency of shots attempted after three to six dribbles, according to statistics provided by NBA.com.

While there are obvious benefits to featuring two bigs — besides playing and coaching to what’s more comfortable — the Pacers become a much better rebounding team (55.0 per game) than their starting spread lineup (34.2). Even so, the “best” still has not come on the offensive end.

“We’re getting good looks, we’re just not shooting the ball well as a team,” George said. “We’re still working on moving and sharing the ball. I think the knock on us right now, once we give the ball up we sit in standstill making it easy to guard, which is eating up the clock. So we’ve got to do a better job at movement.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

COURTSIDE SEATS!: How you could win a pair

INDIANA AT NEW ORLEANS

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Friday.

TV: Fox Sports Indiana.

Radio: WFNI-AM (1070), -FM (93.5).

PACERS (20-15)

Projected starters

Pos. Player PPG Key stat

PG George Hill 12.5 3.9 rpg

SG Monta Ellis 13.4 4.7 apg

SF Paul George 24.6 7.7 rpg

PF Lavoy Allen 5.3 5.5 rpg

C Ian Mahinmi 8.2 7.2 rpg

6th Rodney Stuckey 10.1 3.4 rpg

PELICANS (11-23)

Projected starters

Pos. Player PPG Key stat

PG Tyreke Evans 15.1 7.3 apg

SG Eric Gordon 15.5 2.2 rpg

SF Alonzo Gee 3.8 2.9 rpg

PF Anthony Davis 23.4 11.1 rpg

C Omer Asik 2.7 4.4 rpg

6th Ryan Anderson 16.8 6.3 rpg

STORYLINES

• OWNING A PET PELICAN: The Pacers have treated New Orleans as an appropriate business trip, winning four straight games here. Overall, Indiana has won eight consecutive matchups against the Pelicans for the team’s longest active winning streak over any opponent.

• GORDON FOR 3: Indianapolis native Eric Gordon has remained healthy this season and his game shows it. Gordon, who has been prone to injury during his eight-year career, ranks among the league leaders in 3-point shooting with 85 attempts this season.

• HE SAID WHAT?! “No, I’m just getting calls now. It was hit or miss, but I’m going to still attack. If I get them, I get them. If I don’t, I don’t.” – Paul George, still feeling a certain way about officiating, responding to a question about if his nine free-throw attempts against the Orlando Magic reflected improved aggressiveness from the Miami Heat matchup in which he attempted just four.

• PREDICTION: The Pelicans have the super-talented Anthony Davis surrounded by a strong backcourt and can appear like the playoff-contending team they were believed to be at the start of the season. However, beset by injuries, New Orleans has used 14 different starting lineups, tied for most in the league with the tank-a-thon Philadelphia 76ers. So when the Pelicans lose, they look more like a contender for a top 3 lottery pick. With the Pacers re-attaching to their defensive identity, this should make for a long night for the Pelicans. Indiana wins 95-79.

— Candace Buckner