After three straight losses without Victor Oladipo, Pacers struggling to find answers

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers aren’t kidding themselves. They knew they’d struggle without their leading scorer. What team wouldn’t? However, they didn’t expect that a neutralized Victor Oladipo would have such a profound negative effect on their effort, energy and intensity over the past three games, all losses. That, more than anything else, has been the biggest cause for concern inside the locker room.

“I’m not surprised,” coach Nate McMillan said when asked about the gravity of the impact Oladipo’s absence has had. “I think anybody in the rotation -- certainly a guy who has had an impact on a team early like he has -- you have a tendency to miss. (But) you don’t expect it to feel as it has.”

How it’s felt, or at least how it’s looked from the outside, is that the Pacers are overmatched without their star guard. They’ve not only lost three straight games without him -- he'll miss Wednesday's game at Milwaukee too -- but they’ve also posted their second- and third-lowest scoring outputs of the season, 90 against Minnesota and 94 against Dallas -- neither known for its suffocating defense.

Among Indiana’s biggest problems has been digging themselves early holes, an issue that persisted even with Oladipo healthy. However, without their star guard in the lineup, the Pacers have been unable to climb out of those big holes as had become a staple of their early-season success.

“He was doing a lot for us, as far as scoring and leading transition and bringing a kind of leadership role and energy that our guys feed off of,” McMillan said Tuesday. “You know, it’s not only the fans (he energizes) with his playmaking.”

Following the 107-90 walloping at the hands of the Timberwolves on Sunday, veteran big man Al Jefferson scolded his teammates, saying there was “just no effort, at all.” On Tuesday after practice, Myles Turner doubled down on Jefferson’s comments.

“Our intensity is down from the beginning of the season.” Turner said. “I’m not sure if that’s an effort thing or just being tired. I don’t know what it is, but we have to nip it in the bud.”

To their credit, Turner and the rest of the Pacers are doing what they can to put his words into action. After a day off Monday, the team endured a high-intensity, training camp-like practice Tuesday, while at least Turner, Lance Stephenson and Darren Collison have been spending some extra time at the gym lately. After Sunday’s disheartening defeat at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the three of them went across the street to the St. Vincent’s Center to get in some more work.

“I was already pretty upset about the game; it just wasn’t how I play,” Turner said of his one-point effort (0-of-5 shooting) Sunday. “I probably stayed (at St. Vincent’s Center) until about 11 o’clock. I got about 1,200-1,300 shots up.

“Whenever I’m depressed or I’m not in a good head set, I always come to the gym and just shoot. I’m feeling a lot better now. That game’s behind me and I’m ready to move forward.”

Turner added that he and Collison had a long chat about not sulking for too long after a loss and trying to remedy their recent struggles.   

For as down as the team seemed after Sunday's defeat, they sounded equally upbeat and optimistic ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Bucks, a fellow Eastern Conference playoff contender.

Perhaps by then, the Pacers will have fixed whatever is ailing them without Oladipo. And even if they haven’t, they might only have to work through their struggles for one more game. McMillan said Oladipo’s sore right knee will be reevaluated Thursday, and he is hoping the 25-year-old guard can participate in practice Friday. In that scenario, Oladipo, who was seen riding a stationary bike at practice Tuesday, would likely be a game-time decision ahead of Saturday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.

Still, it would be a big boost to the Pacers’ confidence if they could play well without their star against a talented Bucks team. After all of those extra shots and a good practice, Turner is sure they can make it happen.

“We definitely lost a step in transition and a little bit of our spirit’s down,” Turner said. “I think those are things Vic brings, and we miss him there. But we still have to be able to step up and play well in his absence.”

3 things to know about the Pacers’ opponent Wednesday, the 19-16 Milwaukee Bucks.

1. Wednesday’s game will be the first time these teams play this season. After the game there will only be two teams left in the Eastern Conference the Pacers have yet to play: the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets.
2. Twenty-three-year-old Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo enters the game as the second-leading scorer in the NBA, averaging 29.2 points per game. At 6-11, 222 pounds, the man they call the “Greek Freak” is already one of the NBA’s best all-around players. He, along with Demarcus Cousins and Russell Westbrook, are the only players in the league averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game.
3. The Bucks are one of the most efficient scoring teams in the league. Their 48.2 shooting percentage ranks third behind only Golden State and New Orleans. However, they, like Indiana, don’t take that many shots from beyond the arc. Their 24.9 attempts per game are fifth-least in the league.

More Pacers

• Al Jefferson on the Pacers: 'Just no effort, at all'
• Nate McMillan: 'We know we're better' than recent play
• Insider: Have Pacers peaked already, or is their best still ahead?

Follow IndyStar Sports reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.