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Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers

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Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#1 » by Jake0890 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:10 am

OPENING NIGHT 2019!!!

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STARTING LINEUP
PG - Malcolm Brogdon | Aaron Holiday | TJ McConnell
SG - Jeremy Lamb | Edmund Sumner
SF - TJ Warren | Doug McDermott | Justin Holiday
PF - Domantas Sabonis | TJ Leaf
C - Myles Turner | Goga Bitadze

Surprising overachievers each of the past two seasons, the Indiana Pacers tip off the 2019-20 season Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Detroit Pistons as contenders to win a wide-open Eastern Conference.

The loss of All-Star Paul George in the 2017 offseason elicited preseason projections of an Indiana team near the cellar in the Central division. But the emergence of swingman Victor Oladipo as an All-Star powered the Pacers to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18, a feat they duplicated last year.

Last season's run came with Oladipo sidelined for 46 games with a quadriceps injury. Despite a return to 5-on-5 practices on Oct. 18, the two-time All-Star -- who last played on Jan. 23 -- will not be available for the season opener.

"I know he's working hard to get himself back," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "I've been watching him all summer long, and I've never seen anyone attack the rehab as hard as he has."

In the interim, Indiana opens with much of the young corps that kept things going down the stretch last season. The interior duo of center Myles Turner and forward Domantas Sabonis made considerable career strides in 2018-19.

Turner averaged 13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and an NBA-best 2.7 blocked shots per game. Sabonis, who just signed a contract extension on Monday, registered career highs of 14.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Both are just 23 years old.

The addition of steady 3-point shooting wing Malcolm Brogdon from divisional rival Milwaukee helps offset the Pacers' most noteworthy roster loss from a season ago, Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic signed with Utah in the offseason after putting up 18 points per game in Indiana.

Adding Brogdon, a career 40.8 percent 3-point shooter, promises to bolster an already-dangerous lineup from deep that ranked fifth in the NBA from behind the arc a season ago. That stands in stark contrast to opening-night opponent Detroit, which tied Oklahoma City for the worst 3-point shooting percentage among playoff teams in 2018-19.

The Pistons shot just 34.8 percent from behind the arc, with no one who attempted more than two 3s per game hitting the 40 percent threshold. Guard Luke Kennard came closest at 39.4 percent on 4.3 attempts a night.

Improved long-range shooting is crucial to Detroit building on sneaking into last year's playoffs as the No. 8 seed. One Piston who seems to have taken a proactive approach to buoying the team's outside game is center Andre Drummond, one of the premier interior players in the NBA.

Drummond led the league in rebounding a season ago at 15.6 per game, and his 17.3 points per game marked a career high.

"I'm still working on the 3-point shot, which everybody seems to not like for some reason, but who really cares?" Drummond told the Detroit Free-Press in August.

He shot just 13 percent from beyond the arc a season ago, and went without a make in four preseason games. Perhaps pulling the elite post presence out of the paint is not the best path forward for first-year coach Dwane Casey, who won the 2017-18 Coach of the Year award with the Toronto Raptors.

Regardless where it comes from, Detroit could use a more consistent long ball to help open the floor for high-flying veteran Blake Griffin. The six-time All-Star comes into the opener experiencing some hamstring tightness, but is not expected to be a scratch from the lineup.

https://www.espn.com/nba/preview?gameId=401160626

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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#2 » by Jake0890 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:12 am

Anybody going to the game?

Blake Griffin is officially out which will be nice for us because we play them 3 times within the first 10 games.

This should be a W to start the season. 8-)
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#3 » by Pacers_Freak » Wed Oct 23, 2019 1:01 pm

Exciting start to another 82 game journey. May be some rough patches as this group gels.... but LET'S GO CERS!!
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#4 » by Wizop » Wed Oct 23, 2019 1:25 pm

Jake0890 wrote:Anybody going to the game?


going next week
Please edit long quotes to only show what puts your new message into context.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#5 » by boomershadow » Wed Oct 23, 2019 2:28 pm

I'm pretty stoked.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#6 » by DoubleEagle4 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:41 pm

Took the Pacers at -6.5. Feeling very confident tonight with Blake out. Very excited to watch the season start!!
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#7 » by basketballwacko2 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:00 pm

It's about your time!! Let's kick butt!
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#8 » by ducler » Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:13 pm

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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#9 » by basketballwacko2 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:19 pm

Vic looked great wish he was playing.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#10 » by basketballwacko2 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:27 pm

Pacers have the market cornered on TJ's.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#11 » by Jake0890 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:35 pm

It’s almost comical that Justin Holiday breaks the lineup as a forward before TJ Leaf.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#12 » by basketballwacko2 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:42 pm

Summer is an NBA player!
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#13 » by boomershadow » Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:48 pm

Looks almost like neither team has played together before lol.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#14 » by basketballwacko2 » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:06 am

Aliza Johnson best hair award!
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#15 » by boomershadow » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:09 am

Sigh. Here's to another 82 games of completely uninspired offense.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#16 » by OnFire » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:09 am

How's the Myles-Domas tandem so far?
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#17 » by Pacersike » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:48 am

OnFire wrote:How's the Myles-Domas tandem so far?

Turrible.

Domas isn't perfect from the field anymore (6-7) and Myles gets less blocks than he gets threes and we already have 5 shooting guards.

ps I might be a bit critical
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#18 » by Pacersike » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:12 am

OnFire wrote:How's the Myles-Domas tandem so far?

No, I'm just watching the boxscore so I can't say much, but it looks like they are killing it and the tandem is one of the best things that's working for us right now.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#19 » by Pacersike » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:31 am

But the tandem also collapsed under the pressure of finishing the game, together with the others.
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Re: Game Thread 10/23 - Pistons vs. Pacers 

Post#20 » by Pacersike » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:48 am

16 points from our bench and 6 rebounds. Zero points from our Holidays. Why did we get 3 TJs and not 3 Holidays?

Why does Nate refuses to give McDermott as many shots as Kennard? It's all he can do.

Warren and Lamb are mainly scorers, who struggled to score tonight, so they can't make up for it defensively or in rebounding.

Sumner with the -23, I will look closely for that when I watch the game, because you would think he was 1 of the better players.

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