McMillan Takes Nothing for Granted at Closing Time

Nate McMillan has two primary pet peeves, which he shares with the team at the start of each training camp: "be on time and don't "F" with the game."

One way to do that, in his mind, is to be careful about pulling starters too early. McMillan didn't begin clearing his bench in Friday's 35-point victory over Detroit until 4:24 remained, when he put Kyle O'Quinn into the game. The Pacers led by 31 points at the time. He put TJ Leaf and Aaron Holiday in at 3:52 and completed the process by subbing Davon Reed at 3:02.

The Pacers had begun the quarter with a 22-point lead and had improved that to 30 with just over seven minutes remaining. Many fans on social media, and no doubt those at the…