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VISITING



THE SKINNY



The Pacers face their the toughest challenge of the season thus far in the Orlando Magic, currently projected to snag one of the top seeds in the East. It's another proving ground for Hibbert, playing against the undisputed best center in the East. More importantly, it's a test to see if the Pacers have what it takes to go up against one of the most balanced teams in the NBA.

THE LINEUPS



Point Guard

With Collison as a game-time decision, it's up to TJ Ford to check the former all-star Jameer Nelson, who is enjoying 43% shooting from deep. As a starter, Ford has been very good with the ball, amassing a 5:1 assist/turnover ratio, but has struggled a little bit from the field. Against a defensive team like Orlando, he needs to continue to take care of the ball.

Shooting Guard

CONGRATS TO THE NEW FATHER!

Mike Dunleavy and his wife had a daughter two days ago. That kind of life-changing event should cause him to break the 40-point barrier tonight. Hopefully. Vince Carter has been quietly having a very efficient season, and still has breakout ability on offense. Dunleavy should clamp down and try and put a hand in Carter's face or he will start to catch fire. Most likely Dunleavy will move to Quentin Richardson and let Granger/George/Rush take care of Carter.

Small Forward

Danny Granger's defense has made an appearance after taking most of last season off. He is hounding ballhandlers and keeping his hands very active. Quentin Richardson is not having a great season, and the wing rotation of the Magic might be thinned out a little bit with JJ Redick listed as "questionable". Granger has another opportunity to beat his opponents off the dribble and use his crafty moves to create some space for a good game.

Power Forward

Rashard Lewis hasn't exactly been inspirational with his shooting, but Josh McRoberts still has one of the most challenging matchups on his hands with Rashard's speed and range. The one area where McRoberts should really be beating out Rashard is on the boards. Boxing out is essential in this game, and if Lewis grabs more than 7 rebounds on top of whatever Dwight gets, it will be a bad game.

Center

Hibbert's consistent scoring and rebounding numbers are a huge jump from last year, but he now has to work on taking care of the ball, as his turnover numbers have been creeping higher, and his assist numbers have cooled off considerably since the beginning of the year. His matchups with Howard have been decided by who gets in foul trouble first. If Hibbert is the primary offensive option and uses his moves to get a couple of quick fouls of Howard, then the game will be easier. Fouls are Superman's kryptonite.

THE BENCH







The bench for Orlando also plays good defensive basketball. With Foster back, the Pacers have a bolstered frontcourt rotation that hopefully doesn't need Solomon "Walking Turnover" Jones anymore. Rush has an opportunity to show his stuff on both ends of the court, and Posey's veteran savvy has proven very useful this season, as opposed to the $15 million deadweight some (including myself) thought he would be.

THE COACHES





Against a deep, talented, and balanced team in the Magic, O'Brien needs to have an airtight substitution plan that wastes no offense and no defense. The one advantage Obie has over his panicky counterpart is that he is calmer. He has this Pacers team believing they can play and beat the best of them.

THE INJURY REPORT



Pacers
Darren Collison - Ankle: Maybe.

Clippers

JJ Redick - Back: Probably.
Jason Williams - Foot: Maybe.

THE HEAVY MATTERS



-Box out and secure rebounds. The extra possessions are all too valuable.
-Guard the perimeter. The Magic team likes to stretch the floor and if they get hot, the subsequent blitz would be devastating.

THE TRADITION

very nice, lets go pacers will be a nice win at home

People oughta be watching this game. We're competitive and energetic.

Dunleavy comin back sown to Earth. When will he be in the D-League?

roy dominating

My god who is that girl in the very first picture

looking terrible we need someone to get going to get some momentum back

allweneedisLOVE wrote:My god who is that girl in the very first picture

Tiffany Toth.

Jeff Foster shouldn't be in the NBA. No defense and can't catch a pass. Being loyal to a player can only go so far. Magnum would have a bigger impact on the game than Jeff.

Indy2thaWindy wrote:Jeff Foster shouldn't be in the NBA. No defense and can't catch a pass. Being loyal to a player can only go so far. Magnum would have a bigger impact on the game than Jeff.

Sigworthy.

The refs are killing our momentum.

Goddammit.

Crap. We just can't close a game.

Tough loss but I was really proud of the defensive effort. Sounds like Collison should be back Monday for Miami, lets bring the same effort to south beach.

Where is Granger in the 4th quarter when we need him?

(i know he was in the game, im asking why he didnt do anything offensively, outside of one jumpshot.)

Granger needs to show up against the better teams for us to win.

I don't think Roy took a shot in the 2nd half, except for the two free throws he hit.

Crap! Tough loss. Great effort though against a very athletic and offensive-minded team and with our floor general Collison out. My league pass feed cut out. Were the middle 2 fouls on Roy legit?

Roy continues to show that he can hang with any center in the league as long as he stays out of foul trouble. But that's easy to fall into when you defend Howard.

As I keep watching though, going forward starting next year, I'm confident in Rush's ability to take the place of Dunleavy in the starting 5 and having George back him up.

Solid game all-around game though. Next time!

I didn't get to see or listen to the game, but been following it via twitter from several reporters. Tough loss it seems like but the shooting was horrid it sounded like, especially early on. When those 3's are not going in, i really wish they could change their game plan on the fly and get to the hoop more, instead of just keep on shooting themselves out of a slump. I don't think thats the most efficient way to get out of a slump, but going inside, getting to the line and getting some easy points would be.

But, i just heard this quote from Stan Van Gundy after the game about the Pacers-

"I’d be surprised if Indiana isn’t a playoff team.. We’ll see them in the postseason."

People are beginning to see that we're the real deal. I can't wait for Collison to come back so we can take this loss and turn it into a win against the vaunted Heat.

Miller4ever wrote:People are beginning to see that we're the real deal. I can't wait for Collison to come back so we can take this loss and turn it into a win against the vaunted Heat.

Dude, we're 5-6 against a relatively easy schedule so far. We are far from the real deal.

I like the optimism, but be realistic.

If we can get a new coach before all-star break, I think we could be a lock for the playoffs. O'Brien just makes terrible desicions. Like the 3 with 30 seconds to go and not to foul until the ball got past half court. He's been consistent with these calls. He'd make a great college coach, but this ain't college. We need DC and Tyler to practice the PnR. I think Tyler can become a pretty good PnR big, but if we can upgrade the 4 position then go for it. We have almost 0 defense from that spot and it kills us. It's still better than having Murph tho. Hansbrough will at least put his all into it, Josh just looks lazy out there on D, tho. A lot like Dunleavy. I wanna see Danny start at the 4 some soon, because Brandon looks like he has earned his spot in the starting rotation. Or at least bench Dunleavy.