THE SKINNY
The Pacers face off against the Seattle Supersonics who for some unknown reason have taken to wearing less historically important jerseys and playing their home games in Oklahoma, seemingly having forgotten about the championship they earned in 1979. What a gyp. In any case, these so called "Thunder" came to Conseco Fieldhouse and won a tight contest behind Russell Westbrook's 43 point explosion. They have since traded forward Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins, and the Pacers have replaced James Posey and Jim O'Brien for people who have thus far proven to be competent. The Pacers have a difficult schedule for March, with 18 games in 31 days and 6 back-to-backs among them.
THE LINEUPS
Point Guard
Darren Collison has to turn his last embarrassment into motivation. 43 points yielded to a player with comparable speed and significant greater size must make Vogel choose Rush and Stephenson as preferable defenders on the prolific Russell Westbrook. Collison's minutes have taken hits recently due to a combination of early foul trouble and an inability to defend his man, which is a growing concern if he is to be the point guard of the future for the Pacers.
Shooting Guard
Brandon Rush is playing solid D, and he's starting to take shots on offense since coming back from injury. However, he needs to show assertiveness or Paul George and his sweet midrange jumper are going to quickly replace him in the starting lineup.
Small Forward
Kevin Durant is back as the MVP of the Supersonics, and is also the league's leading scorer. However, Ron Artest has shown he can be rendered inefficient. Is Granger can use his body more than his hands, then he can take Durant out of his comfort zone. On the other end, Granger needs to keep getting himself to the foul line. His 16-for-16 performance on Golden State is a feat neither Reggie Miller nor Larry Bird have accomplished. 16 attempts per game is a lot, but he must strive for around 10 attempts per game to be an all-star again. In their last meeting, Granger actually outgunned Durant, but it wasn't enough.
Power Forward
Josh McRoberts has inconsistent rebounding. He can sometimes show up and get 8, but he has games when he only pulls down 3. The reason for this is positioning. He often finds himself getting beat out on the box-out and is forced to attempt to swat a rebound out of the opponent's hands. Nick Collison is a smart rebounder, who has less athleticism than McBob but pulls down rebounds at a better rate.
Center
Serge Ibaka is intriguing, but in the last meeting he played only 17 minutes and Roy Hibbert scored 19 points and yanked 10 boards. This was back when it was a surprise to many that he was a good center. Luckily he doesn't have to contend with Kendrick Perkins today, but he still must establish himself because an advantage inside will go a long way in winning away from home.
THE BENCH
The Goon Squad was a little flat in the last game until the 4th quarter hit and George pushed the Pacers advantage. Now with Lance Stephenson seeing action off the bench and Tyler Hansbrough owning lesser defenders, the Pacers depth needs to step up in the second night of a back-to-back, especially away.
THE COACHES
Frank Vogel heads straight into the maws of the beast during this southwest roadtrip, and if he can make it out alive, he'll be one step closer to wiping the interim tag off. Scott Brooks, the COY last season, was singlehandedly responsible for the Houston Rockets' championship in 1994. Or something like that.
THE INJURY REPORT
Pacers
Mike Dunleavy - Thumb: No.
Sonics
Kendrick Perkins - Knee: No.
THE HEAVY MATTERS
-Get to the line. It takes the fans out of it and puts the Supersonics in foul trouble.
-Play smart defense. If there's a pick-and-roll, help and rotate. Force Westbrook into taking jumpers instead of letting him get to the basket.
THE TRADITION
