Notes from Pacers training camp day four: Ivica Zubac learning the system
Ivica Zubac is one week into training camp with his new-ish team.
INDIANAPOLIS – The fourth day of training camp for the Indiana Pacers was quieter, at least when media entered the gym.
The team was in a meeting, leaving the two courts in the St. Vincent Center completely vacated. The Pacers had already practiced in preparation for their FanJam scrimmage tomorrow.
Rick Carlisle was absent, so assistant coach Lloyd Pierce led things – and with FanJam in mind, the Pacers divided the roster into two teams for a quick game. That led to some mixed-and-matched lineups. The winning team would get to use the better locker room for tomorrow's scrimmage.
The gold team won, but Pierce would not reveal who actually made up that roster. If the uniforms being worn by certain players was a tell, then at least Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard, and Ivica Zubac were on that squad. In the past, the starters and main reserves have been on opposite teams for FanJam.
Tony East
"Gold team came out with a pretty dominant victory," Pierce said. "Which has usually been the case in the past, and then it's flipped at FanJam. So we'll see how it goes tomorrow."
The scrimmage itself will be played Sunday morning in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, followed by the usual shenanigans of costumes and dancing for franchise newbies. That's all fun and a good time for fans.
Practice time, meanwhile, is more serious. Some notes from the Pacers fourth training camp session on Saturday morning.
Ivica Zubac valuing this time
After being traded in February, Zubac did get to practice with the Pacers a few times last season. But the quality of those practices, at no fault of anyone, was not as high as they are right now.
Tyrese Haliburton was out. Pascal Siakam missed time. Zubac himself was recovering from an ankle injury and was still adjusting to his relocation.
Now, he's been a Pacer for about eight months. Haliburton and Siakam are back, as are several other players. Zubac is gelling at a faster rate as the team irons out exactly what their re-engineered, but similar, offense will look like this year.
"I practiced last year, but obviously we didn't have anyone. So just having everyone this year getting up to speed and already knowing some stuff from last year, it's really good," Zubac said of the first week of training camp. "Gels together well, and we're having fun."
Zubac noted the importance of perfecting his point guard-center chemistry with Haliburton. The two have been paired in lineups for pretty much every rep of camp, something Haliburton hoped would be the case.
"He's awesome. He's been playing well," Sheppard said of Zubac. "Gives us a new look that we haven't had, and everyone's excited to play with him. Great dude on the floor and off the floor."
Sheppard doesn't give up when he gets screened, fighting around them and using his speed to recover. In practices, he's had a battle through a few Zubac picks and described them as tough and hard to get through.
That's just one of the many skills Zubac is bringing to the Pacers already. He's looking forward to preseason action as it will offer more chances to acclimate to his new environment.
"A lot of the possessions, being a center, I'm a low man. I'm getting a rebound or I'm taking the ball out of the net, and once I inbound it, they're already out there. So sometimes I don't even cross half court," Zubac said of the Pacers style. "But it's fun. Honestly, just all the movement and every player getting to feel and touch the ball every possession, it's important."
How will the Zubac-Haliburton pairing look?
I remember hearing Zubac talk years ago on Podcast P about staying after shootarounds to get extra work in with James Harden to build chemistry. That paid off and led to some of Zubac's most productive years in the league when with the Clippers.
I asked Pierce about Haliburton and Zubac working together – specifically citing the Harden-Zubac connection – searching to see if they've been putting in extra time. Pierce took things another direction and compared the duos themselves, which was actually more insightful.
"I think the biggest difference, the pick and roll won't be as static as probably his pick and roll [with] James Harden's was. Ours has a lot of movement prior to the pick and roll. There's a lot of action after the pick and roll," Pierce said. "And I think he's (Zubac) adjusting to the pace in which we want to get into it. It's not as deliberate. It's not just going to be him and [Haliburton], and it's not going to be the same situation on repeat. I don't know if they've spent a lot of time together. I know there's conversations that they'll have, and that's going to be as a reaction to what – we don't know what type of coverage we'll get. And so we'll make adjustments accordingly."
Ben Sheppard's strong day and shooting
As Zubac and Sheppard took their places to begin their post-practice interviews, Zubac made a comment about how well Sheppard has been shooting the ball. Later, Pierce shared the same remark.
"The news is out. He had a great day today. We were just talking about that. He got a chance to play with the starting unit, and I think he went 4/5 from three," the assistant coach said. "[Sheppard] is a high shot profile guy. He takes the right shots, rim or three. He does a great job of spacing for us and ball movement. So anytime he's shooting it with confidence and obviously making shots, it's an added value for us. And today was a great day shooting the basketball for him."
Zubac appreciated Sheppard's confidence, particularly from the corners. Sounds familiar. That's where Sheppard has been best throughout his career, though consistency is an issue.
This year, the fourth-year guard will try to limit his longer stretches of inaccuracy. Sheppard wants to improve in other ways, too, namely in his aggression. He is of the belief that a more streamlined role will help him play better – last season, Sheppard's role changed almost every night as the Pacers battled injuries.
Sheppard is entering a pivotal season for his career. He's 25, extension eligible, and if he doesn't get a new contract he'll enter free agency next summer. His role for the coming season isn't clear, but his role is almost never obvious. Yet at many points, he makes an impact.
Improving consistency takes reps, and Sheppard is getting more in this training camp. It's his fourth one, which doesn't sound like a big number but is a solid amount of time to be with one team.
"It's flown by," Sheppard said of his career. "I still feel young. But year four, I've got a couple years under my belt."
It's a middle ground of experience and potential. Sheppard has been through multiple iterations of the Pacers that are all slightly different. He's learned how to plug himself in with other teammates and still do his thing. That's the goal again this season with Zubac and Kelly Oubre headed for rotation minutes.
"He's a great shooter," Zubac said of Sheppard. "So when he's shooting with confidence, when he's aggressive, it's usually good for us."
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