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The Pick
Pacers in five.Indiana won't take Atlanta lightly considering its recent struggles and tough matchups in the past. The Hawks are likely to win a game in Atlanta, where they've dominated the Pacers in recent years, but Paul George and Co. will be looking to make a statement early and prove they're capable of holding up their end of the bargain of a conference finals rematch.
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Prediction: I'm going to go out on a decent-sized limb and assume the Pacers figure things out at the expense of the Hawks. It's not that I'm dismissing the Hawks as much as I'm trusting the Pacers will be what they're supposed to be.

Pacers in four.

No. 8 Atlanta vs. No. 1 Indiana, Game 1 – Saturday, 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 1 line: Pacers -7.5, Total: 186
Series price: Hawks +450, Pacers -600
Prediction: Pacers in 7 (barely)

This will be a closer series than most expect – the Hawks have played Pacers tough in all four meetings this season, beating them twice, including a 107-88 blowout in Indianapolis earlier this month. The Pacers have won and covered three of four since then, including at home vs. the Thunder. Atlanta, though, is playing its best ball of the season, winning four of its last five and covering all five. Solid defense has led to five of the Hawks’ last six staying UNDER

EuroPacer wrote:Looking forward to this series fellas. I don't think it will be a walkover by any means, our last confrontation at BLF is still far to fresh in my mind...

I do think we will take it, but it will be a good hard-fought play-off series. Enjoy it!

He's been something of a nightmare for Pacers 7-2 center Roy Hibbert, who has been forced to guard Antic on the perimeter instead of Hibbert's preferred spot near the basket. Antic is understandably a big part of the scouting report for Indiana as it prepares to open its Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

"He's just one of those players that when you watch him play against us, the numbers really don't make sense," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "These type of guys are the toughest challenge for Roy, but he's done it (before). He's guarded a lot of 3-point shooters this year. ... He's seen this situation a number of times. We've worked on a lot of coverages to minimize the damage."

Hibbert acknowledged that guarding Antic is different from the challenge he faces in most games. "When you're guarding a big that can shoot 3s, it's obviously a different feel," Hibbert said. "But we have time to prepare for it."

Rip2137 wrote:I love having a player willing to call West on his fake tough guy act. No back down in Pero.