GT: Nets vs. Pacers 7:30pm EST 11/1/8/2019. TV: YES Network

[MrDollarBills]

Irving is out but so is Brogdon. We need to defend home court and we need to defend the interior and defensive glass from Turner and Sabonis.

Give me plenty of Nic Claxton and Jarrett Allen together tonight.

[therealbig3]

Sabonis has been a monster this year, and he straight up destroyed us last time.

Really hoping we can do a much better job against him this time around.

[Paradise]

The injury report is...well, damn.


BKN: Kyrie - OUT, LeVert - OUT, Chandler - OUT, KD - OUT.

IND: Brogdon - OUT, McConnell - OUT, Lamb - OUT, Sabonis - QUESTIONABLE, V. Oladpio - OUT.

[Prokorov]

more claxton, more Nwaba and gut this one out.

Need offense from Allen, Musa, Prince... spencer cant do it all alone.

[ecuhus1981]

If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything! Injuries had affected the Pacers in our first meeting (though they still managed to dominate us late), and we’ve caught up to them in that department. Levert is out for the next 4 weeks with a thumb injury. McConnell, Lamb and Brogdon are all MIA due to various ailments. Our leader Irving is still hampered from his shoulder impingement, so we’ll need another (as Atkinson put it after the Bulls game) “gutty” performance. Let’s get into it:


JARRETT ALLEN VS. MYLES TURNER – Two UT products lock horns again. Turner just returned from the injury he suffered in our previous game. He brings the perfect combination of new-school mobility and range offensively, with old-school paint patrolling on D. Jarrett has lived under Myles’ shadow for years, but is in good form; I’d like to see our 3rd-year pivot take the fight to Turner, and challenge for the upper hand.

TAUREAN PRINCE VS. DOMANTAS SABONIS – The 6’11 NBA legacy caused all sort of problems for us last time around; to be fair, he did most of his damage to our C’s once Myles left the game. In the modern game, his skills can do more damage at the 5; fortunately for us, Indy plays him out of position. I’m hopeful that Prince can extrapolate his early containment of Domas last time, to 48 minutes this time. As usual, Taurean’s advantage against traditional PF’s lies in his ability to work through screens for open looks, and use his slashing ability to get by his man and suck in defensive help. He needs to hit 3’s and make plays without coughing up the ball.

JOE HARRIS VS. TJ WARREN – Joe is coming off of his best NBA game. Still, giving up size and strength defensively has always given him grief. TJ is a gifted scorer, but is struggling to match his 18-19 efficiency. I’m going form over fashion this time.

GARRETT TEMPLE VS. JUSTIN HOLIDAY – The Pacers will be without Brogdon as he recovers from a sore back. I’m still holding my breath, and won’t count him out until at least tipoff. Presumably in his place, we will see Justin Holiday, a versatile veteran journeyman who defies a position, similar to Temple. Both add intangibles to their team, and this could come down to hustle and hitting open 3’s.

SPENCER DINWIDDIE VS. AARON HOLIDAY – a pesky defender with burgeoning scoring skill, the sophomore out of UCLA Holiday is blossoming with increased PT. Kyrie is out again (I hope it’s not serious), so we will count on Spencer to deliver for us once more as a starter. Being strong with the ball is my only concern here; past half-court, Dinwiddie should be able to blow by the first line of defense. But Indy loves to show token full-court pressure, and it rattled us more than it should have last time.

I’ve been pleased with Jordan lately. His energy and mood are up, and his defense has gone from difficult to watch, to downright impressive. It’s hard to know who apart from the veteran C will play, or who will excel. Without Spence to lead the 2nd unit, it will again need to be a collaborative effort of tools specific to the job. Dzanan is getting experience and proving to be an useful tertiary ball-handler and scorer. I’d love to see Rodi re-surface tonight; the Pacers give up back-door opportunities, and a couple of those might be his slump-buster. Because of injuries to starters that move reserves up a role, the Pacers are similarly depleted, but they still have enough on both ends to swing a game.

Kenny has seemed more inclined to in-game adjustments since the previous match. Normally, the team that loses an All-Defense member in a game would languish afterward, but Nate tweaked his approach and Atkinson was a few steps slow to adapt. The players have to go out and play, but giving them the freedom to respond to gameplay different than their expectation is important. I think he will get out of his comfort zone, so that his team can get in theirs.

PREDICTION: NETS 111, PACERS 104

[Uncbball8293]

I think Claxton is a big key tonight with their 2 bigs, also need Joe to step up big again like last game. Need him to be more aggressive and look to score. Would also like to see Nawaba ahead of Shump in the rotation, but I don't think that's going to happen at this point.

[Paradise]

more claxton, more Nwaba and gut this one out.

Need offense from Allen, Musa, Prince... spencer cant do it all alone.

Basically. I think the Claxton/JA/DJ frontcourt should see significant minutes together tonight.

Holiday | Mitru-Long
Holiday | McDermott | Brian Bowen
Warren | Jakarr Sampson
Sabonis (?) | Leaf | Alize Johnson
Turner | Bitadze

No excuses against an equally undermanned team without an experienced PG at home.

[Prokorov]

more claxton, more Nwaba and gut this one out.

Need offense from Allen, Musa, Prince... spencer cant do it all alone.

Basically. I think the Claxton/JA/DJ frontcourt should see significant minutes together tonight.

Holiday | Mitru-Long
McDermott | Brian Bowen
Warren | Jakarr Sampson
Sabonis (?) | Leaf | Alize Johnson
Turner | Bitadze

No excuses against an equally undermanned team without an experienced PG at home.

no lamb?

[Paradise]

more claxton, more Nwaba and gut this one out.

Need offense from Allen, Musa, Prince... spencer cant do it all alone.

Basically. I think the Claxton/JA/DJ frontcourt should see significant minutes together tonight.

Holiday | Mitru-Long
McDermott | Brian Bowen
Warren | Jakarr Sampson
Sabonis (?) | Leaf | Alize Johnson
Turner | Bitadze

No excuses against an equally undermanned team without an experienced PG at home.

no lamb?

TJ McConnell and Lamb are listed as out. Sabonis is in, though.

It would honestly take a massive 40 piece game from TJ Warren, Sabonis or Turner for them to honestly dominate the control of the game. There is no excuse to give up close to 120 tonight to a team missing 80% of their rotation players.

[LOUiS-D]

Any team can beat us if they force us to commit turnovers and put us in foul trouble or we have a rough shooting night from 3. Gotta tighten up.

[Paradise]

I want to see some tight defense, rebounding, smart shots and taking care of the ball...consistently.

[LOUiS-D]

As much as people have said they want TP to keep it simple he's starting to show some scoring versatility.

[CalamityX12]

I like Claxton's mindset thus far into the season... I hope he continues to surprise us(me)

[Rich Rane]

Solid start.

[DarkXaero]

As much as people have said they want TP to keep it simple he's starting to show some scoring versatility.

He has the ability to make tough shots, its something he showed in Atlanta. Problem is that it's still not good, efficient basketball.

[LOUiS-D]

If JA didn't go up with that Holiday coulda landed ugly.

[NyCeEvO]

Some of Temple’s misses are the hardest clanging bricks.

[Rich Rane]

Claxton might have gotten fouled, but okay.

Same for Musa.

[DarkXaero]

Pacers have been really bad offensively, but their high effort is gonna keep them in this game. We can't match their intensity.

[Rich Rane]

Goddamn, I miss Vince Carter.