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THE SKINNY


The Pacers find themselves in a freefall after dropping a heartbreaker to Miami and a poor showing in Orlando. The visiting Blazers are in a similar predicament, finding themselves 2-5 in their last 7, and under .500 for a team that was supposed to push for a playoff seed. The Pacers have no more back-to-back road games for the rest of the season, so defending homecourt should be an opportunity grasped firmly.

THE LINEUPS



Point Guard

From longtime Bobcat to journeyman in less than two seasons, Raymond Felton presents an interesting challenge to Darren Collison. Collison has enough height, but his weight is significantly lighter. He can really push the tempo on Felton, however, and that will be a key in this matchup.

Shooting Guard

It's not often George contends with another shooting guard who can match his length. George has put together two back-to-back 20 point nights on some very impressive shooting. He is matched up against a different type of player than he usually feasts on in Batum, but if he continues to play good defense, he will get his offense.

Small Forward

Reunited with his Bobcat running mate, Gerald Wallace completes a very stout wing tandem with Batum. They are both long, athletic, and good defenders. Granger has seen his fair share of Gerald Wallace, and this will be a familiar matchup in some ways, but circumstances have changed quite a bit.

Power Forward

LaMarcus Aldridge is now the undisputed star of the Blazers, and his dangerous offensive length, athleticism, and skill presents a challenge for the frontline of the Pacers. He's not the most prolific rebounder, but David West needs to keep a body on him.

Center

Roy Hibbert hasn't had a complete all-star type game since he dropped 30 and 13 on New Orleans. He has struggled to find consistency on offense, and teams are playing him differently than they were in the beginning of the season, so he must adjust accordingly. Marcus Camby will be a good test.

THE BENCH






Without George Hill, players like Lance Stephenson need to pick up the slack. Stephenson, who is suppoed to be a scorer, is 0-4 in the absence of Hill, and needs to focus on good basketball instead of potentially amazing plays.

THE COACHES




The top 5 players win share wise on this team (not including the oft-injured Foster) are Paul George, George Hill, Roy Hibbert, David West, and then Danny Granger. Then it's Tyler and then Collison. Vogel has plaed with rotations to try and keep one or two of these players on at all times.

THE INJURY REPORT



Pacers
Jeff Foster: Back - No.
George Hill: Shoulder - Probably not.

Blazer
Greg Oden: Knee - No.
Elliot Williams: Shoulder - No.

THE HEAVY MATTERS



-Get Roy involved. The big man needs to be more aggressive when he gets the ball.
-Don't force things on the wings. Batum and Wallace have very active hands.

THE TRADITION

This is an important one. The rest of the season is basically us defending our home turf.

Wow, fantastic Game Thread. Very professional, and needless to say, loaded with some very nice "real estate."

Question, since I intend to watch this one cause I'm scouting Portland: Is George Hill playing or not playing? Thanks!

The Doc

He is listed as questionable, but we're probably keeping him out.

Miller4ever wrote:He is listed as questionable, but we're probably keeping him out.

Ok thanks for the answer Mr. Miller.

So do the Pacers have adequate replacements for Hill?

No. And I was wrong, apparently, he's back.

George Hill!

How is he in the NBA?

That steal and rebound/outlet pass all while in mid air were crazy.

woj:

Bucks and Warriors have agreed in principle on trade to send Bogut and Jackson to Warriors for Ellis, Udoh and Brown, league source tells Y!

I wonder what old rem thinks about this.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!

Lou is pacesetting and AJ is assisting.
Looks like the starters will get some rest this game as well.

What's the update on Lance - is he in the doghouse due to poor play/discipline or something else??

glasket wrote:What's the update on Lance - is he in the doghouse due to poor play/discipline or something else??

AJ Price has moved ahead of him in the normal rotation. Lance will get a few development minutes each game but he's not a big factor time wise except when Hill is out.

I didn't get to watch this game and won't be able to watch the replay on League Pass. I saw that the starters only played about 25 minutes at most. Was it a blowout? Too bad I couldn't see Lou blow the Blazers out of the water.

PG since all-star break - 14.1pts/4.6rebs/2.3assts/3.4stls/0.9tos/47.5 FG%/44.4 3pt%/83.3 FT%

Get this man some more touches. He's only taking 10.4 shots per game since then and has a near 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. It's becoming obvious he's already our best player and he's only 21.

I was watching until an electrical fire wiped out everything in the neighborhood. I won't be able to get on at all for tonights game. I heard this one was great, though.