GDT: Game 8, Charlotte @ Indiana

[Grang33r]

Charlotte Bobcats [2-5] @ Indiana Pacers [5-2]
| Saturday, January 7, 2012 | Indianapolis, Indiana| The Fieldhouse| 7:00 pm ET |
| TV: FSIN, NBA TV | Radio: WIBC 93.3



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ1tIAqSQfA[/youtube]

See it nationally on-



GAME PREVIEW





BOBCATS REPORT

*The Bobcats might finally be getting power forward Tyrus Thomas back, who has been out since Dec. 19 with a sprained left ankle. Coach Paul Silas said Thomas might be activated for Friday's game versus the Hawks. Don't assume Thomas will jump straight back into the starting lineup. D.J. White has played well, and Silas has indicated Thomas will have to earn back his spot.

*Coach Paul Silas said he needs rookie point guard Kemba Walker to become a better finisher on drives, because teams are crowding him defensively to take away Walker's jump shot.

Bobcats report: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/cha/report

PACERS REPORT

*The Pacers tied with Portland for the most players on the NBA All-Star ballot with six. Danny Granger, David West, Darren Collison, Paul George, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert are on the ballot. George Hill, a starter on a lot of teams, was not on the ballot. "George (Hill) has a chance to be an All-Star, too," coach Frank Vogel said. "We've got seven starters on this team. It's a strength of ours. We want to take advantage of our depth and our versatility."

*The Pacers had never played one possession of zone defense under former coach Jim O'Brien or current coach Frank Vogel, who was an assistant under O'Brien, since they arrived in 2007. They tried it against the Heat and it backfired on them. Miami was 6-of-11 on three-pointers when they led by 23 points at halftime. "I'm a risk-taker," coach Frank Vogel said. "I looked at what Dallas did in the Finals, and Atlanta was effective the other night. They're a great offense team, number one in the league. I wanted to take a chance. It didn't work out for us.

Pacers report: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/ind/report

LAST TIME OUT

Friday, Jan. 5th-
102
96
Leader: DJ Augustin- 21pt, 12ast Full stats- http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2012010630

Friday, Jan 5th-
87
74
Leader: Roy Hibbert- 11pt, 12reb Full stats- http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2012010602

THE COACHES





THE STARTERS



Charlotte

Augustin - Henderson - White - Brown - Diaw

Team Leaders:
Points- Augustin 16.2ppg, Henderson 15.8, Maggette 15.2
Rebounds- Diaw 7.2rpg, Maggette 6.2, White 6
Assists- Augustin 7.2apg, Diaw 5.7

Indiana

Collison - George - Granger - West - Hibbert

Team Leaders-
Points- Granger 15.2ppg, Hibbert 13.2, Hansbourgh 12.7
Rebounds- Hibbert 10rpg, Hansbrough 8, West 7
Assists- Collison 6.2, George 2.5, West 2.5

RESERVES



Charlotte

Walker - Mullens - Biyombo - Diop

Leaders:
Points- Mullens 10.7, Walker 9.2
Rebounds- Diop 4.8
Assists- Walker 3.2

Indiana

Hill - Hansbrough - Jones - Amundson - Foster

Leaders-
Points- Hansbrough 12.7, Hill 9.2
Rebounds- Hansbourgh 8
Assists- Hill 2

INJURY REPORT



Charlotte

Thomas - Najara - Maggette

Indiana


Stephenson

10 BEFORE THE TIP

NBA.com has a reporter in every arena, scouring the locker rooms and hitting press row for all the latest news, notes and anecdotes leading up to tipoff. Ten Before Tip is your source for lineup scratches, injury updates and all last-minute info that could affect the outcome of the game. Every night, before every game, NBA.com’s writers will be filing short TBT blog posts directly from the arena, covering the latest storylines to keep you fully informed.

Check this out before the tip- http://tbt.blogs.nba.com/

REMEMBER THIS?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUF4YjKukMo[/youtube]

KEY MATCHUP







TRADITION













LETS GO PACERS

[dennis_mora91]

We should stay strong at home

[doc.end]

Tyrus Thomas should be read to play (played last game). Reggie Williams is out. Bench is Walker, Cory Higgins, Matt Carroll, Tyrus Thomas, Biyombo, Mullens, Diop assuming starting five is the same as last game.

[Miller4ever]

Who's that skinny girl at the end of the OP with the Reggie Miller jersey on? She's hot.

[Miller4ever]

It's not going to be an easy opponent. At least Amundson is fresh, and the Bobcats are also coming off a back-to-back.

[daschysta]

Hibbert should be able to dominate this front line. Hopefully tonight isn't one of those nights where we suffer from selective amnesia and somehow overlook the 7-2 monster in the post.

Let's not have a letdown here, we should win big.

[Miller4ever]

Accuscore gives us a 89% chance, despite being away. Granger usually shows up against Charlotte, and Hansbrough does the same. I'm looking forward to more than just flashes of a good offense.

[Pacersike]

Who is away?

Pendergraph was in Pacers uniform yesterday, so we might get a peek at him today with all the athletic players in the Cats frontcourt.

[Miller4ever]

My bad, I read it wrong. We are at home.

[LamarMatic7]

Where are all the Pacers fans? Sad to see empty sections like this one on RealGM. I thought that there are more of you guys here, I haven't visited your section before.

[Grang33r]

There is a lot of Pacers fan on realgm....

[Pacersike]

They are all on Pacersdigest.

Man, is Diaw eating all Tyrus Thomas his food? Can't believe we are down with such players on the court for the Bobcats.

[Miller4ever]

Mullens' foot is a menace to the Pacers.

[Pacersike]

How about giving George some minutes at the 3?

[basketballwacko2]

Pacers putting smack down on the Bobs'


Wouldn't it suck to be paying $9 milliion a year to Boris Diaw?

[Miller4ever]

Hibbert is a man among boys almost every night. People are starting to buy into this team. Granger had a couple more cough-outs but he's looking like he's coming back. Collison had 8 rebounds, shot efficiently, and Foster really does anchor this team excellently. A couple of times it was obvious he wanted to get the ball away from himself and people weren't ready for it. We were pushing the ball more in the second half and it helped.

[Val Holliday]

What a dominant 2nd half. Awesome.

[Miller4ever]

I've personally been too hard on Granger. Besides the Miami game when he did try selfish stuff, he's been solid in other areas. He's shot an acceptable 35% from deep, he's defended well, he's among league leaders in steals and swatting shots, he's not turning it over, and he's not fouling. I think all things considered, he's doing okay.

[JONEAL]

Love it when we play through the post
good things happens..
Roy seems to be doing good things.

[basketballwacko2]

Nice game thread send the nurse to my room please I need a spunge bath.