Doc Rivers Reveals Bucks Biggest Handicap vs Pacers

The Milwaukee Bucks face off against the Indiana Pacers in the four versus five matchup in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. The series begins Saturday afternoon, with both seeming pretty close on paper.

However, one specific area of the game could be a turning point, and head coach Doc Rivers seems to understand that based on comments he made.

“There are teams that you can turn the ball over (against) and there’s teams that you can’t. This team, you just cannot. If we have high turnovers, it’s going to be tough for us,” Rivers said when talking about the Pacers.

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These comments are somewhat true, looking at the stats. In terms of steals per game and points off turnovers, the Pacers are above average, but where they really thrive in the turnover department is holding onto the ball themselves.

When it comes to protecting the ball, the Pacers are up there with the best teams in the league. They are tied for third with just 13.2 turnovers per game, tied with the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, and behind the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.

That also translates to points allowed on fastbreaks, which are second behind the Thunder with 13.2 points per game.

While Rivers’s comments seemed to suggest the Pacers were a scary team to turn the ball over against, the stats don’t quite back that up, but not turning the ball over in general is a good strategy.

The Pacers are less good at forcing teams to turn the ball over and scoring fastbreak points and more good at not turning the ball over themselves and giving up fastbreak points, so in a sense, if the Bucks did start to turn the ball over and give up fastbreak points, they could be at a huge disadvantage in the series.

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That disadvantage would be emphasized if Damian Lillard misses most of the series, given he is the point guard who is often handling the ball. Without a primary ball-handler, turnovers are more likely to happen.

While Damian Lillard’s scoring will be missed with him out, his ability to handle the ball may be what is most missed, and serve as the biggest handicap for the team in the series against the Indiana Pacers.

For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, head on over to Indiana Pacers on SI.