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THE SKINNY



After a chippy win against the up-and-coming Timberwolves in which boiling bad blood blew Granger's lid off his scoring limit and he took over the scoring with focus that hasn't shown thus far. This will be a true test against the defending champs who have righted their ship and look to defend their homecourt like the veterans they are. Carlisle views this matchup seriously, going so far as to call the Pacers contenders for the title.

THE LINEUPS



Point Guard

Darren Collison is taking much better care of the ball in his third season, and features an assist/turnover ratio of 2.72. The team's speed advantage is something Collison needs to exploit, and pushing the tempo against the Mavericks will be crucial in controlling the flow. Even though Jason Kidd is out, the backups at the position are dangerous. Roddy Beaubois is quick and can score, so Collison has to play good on-ball defense.

Shooting Guard

Paul George carried the Pacers against the Nets and then fell into foul trouble against the Timberwolves. If he can't get on the floor, those minutes can't go to the injured George Hill. Vince Carter's recent success has led to the Mavericks' success and his failure is the Mavericks' failure. George needs to focus on taking away the scoring of Carter and taking it to the hole on the other end.

Small Forward

It seems Granger's offense is now clicking, and part of it is that his aggressiveness is now turning into trips to the line instead of turnovers. The other part is that his shots are falling. However, scoring 36 on Wes Johnson won't be as easy as scoring 36 on Shawn Marion. Marion is a good defender with length to contest and hands to deflect, making him a tough defensive matchup for Granger.

Power Forward

Even though he's currently in a funk, Dirk Nowitzki is definitely a player who can light it up on any given night. David West needs to play smart defense and more importantly, make Dirk work on the other end of the court.

Center

Roy Hibbert continues his stellar play and faces a depleted frontline from Dallas, meaning he'll be matched up against the likes of Yi Jianlian, Brendan Wright, and even Lamar Odom. Ian Mahinmi is a solid contributor who shouldn't be taken for granted, and has the size to contend with Hibbert down low. The Pacers have enjoyed feeding it to Hibbert, but more and more teams are keying into that portion of the offense, so that's where Hibbert's passing will come into effect.

THE BENCH






Without George Hill, Lance Stephenson will need to step up his game. When he makes good decision they almost always end up in a good play for the Pacers. He needs to not try and do the one-on-one things on offense, and try getting inside more often. Tyler Hansbrough's efficiency hasn't really been there. A lot of the time the refs aren't on his side, so he needs to adjust accordingly.

THE COACHES




Frank Vogel is now eying the #3 spot guaranteed in the East with a win tonight. He faces Rick Carlisle, who now has a ring to his name after successful runs with Detroit and Indiana. Vogel has used the Mavericks among other teams as his template for the Pacers, and Carlisle is taking this team seriously, so they will be tested.

THE INJURY REPORT



Pacers
Jeff Foster: Back - No.
George Hill: Ankle - No.

Mavericks
Lamar Odom: Sniffles - Probably.
Brendan Haywood: Back - Probably not.
Jason Kidd: Calf - Out.

THE HEAVY MATTERS



-Control the tempo. Push it against the older team, especially off turnovers and misses.
-Bench players need to step up. With George Hill out, the backcourt of Price and Stephenson cannot combine for 1-8.

THE TRADITION

We have not won in Dallas since 2004 (7 game streak).

Dirk is exactly the sort of guy who can give us a headache. Too tall for our forwards, too quick and too far from the basket for Roy. DN is a little banged up. I'd play him straight up. Tag team him, be physical, make him play D.

Mavs are favored in this one by 4.5 points.

When is Jeff Foster going to return?

The ultimate goal is to rest him for the playoffs.

Dallas homer but props for this game thread

Mavs fan here, but nice gamethread lol

...I should be a homer because I made the gamethread for tonight's game...but you win.

Anyone have the video for kia presents contender or pretender eastern conference? I caught the tail end of it and they were giving us some love.

Damn, I need to check these game threads more often

Great start. We haven't missed and Collison and West (who have both seen their share of the Mavs as Hornets) are impressing right now. The Dallas offense isn't doing too shabby, though. We're being aggressive on switches, but damn does that team know how to pass the ball.

Haywood.

He pushes jones and then runs away lol.

PG is cooking 'em.

Paul George is such a baller.

haha @ the announcer " He(PG) has hurt my feelings tonight."

So sick. #7 and still rolling. Plus that huge block, 5 steals, and some significant loose change in the other categories.

paul f-in george

30-7-5-5 for Paul George so far.

Got the Mavs feed, and I gotta say, they aren't very homer and pretty insightful.

They were a pretty solid crew. Man, I am so pumped about our team. Literally any given night PG or DG can go off. And then you get the ever consistent Hibbert. Gotta love it. Hope Hill can make it back for the playoff run. In a way, it should help us out in the long run. We will be able to get good looks at stephenson and price.

Indiana is looking really good^^^

I think if there's any team severly underrated, it's Indiana.