16-30 @ 19-29 Tuesday, February 3rd 7:00 pm ET Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN) Two teams, both in similar situations. Young and talented teams vying to make their way out of mediocrity and making their way back into that playoffs once again. They each have their respective young stars; one in All Star Danny Granger for the Pacers, and the big ASG snub in Al Jefferson for Minny. Both have good, young supporting casts behind them, both have a guy on the bench, waiting to get themselves out of their respective situation (Tinsley, McCants), it's very similar all around. But these teams have shown major potential; Indiana with their wins against some of the league's elite, and Minnesota with their surge of excellent play in this new year. All in all, it should be a game that is fought hard on both ends all the way through. Projected Starters PG SG SF PF C X Factor:Score on the perimeter- The Pacers are a top 15 team blocking shots, and they don't have the greatest perimeter defenders in the world, so Foye, Gomes and Miller all have to step up tonight. We know Al is going to get his, and if Love gets some looks he'll be alright too, but it won't be easy for the smaller guys to get buckets down low, so the bigs are going to need to look to kick it out when it gets tough down low and count on the shooters to hit their stuff. Projected Starters PG SG SF PF C X Factor:Get everyone involved- We know Granger will get his in, it's pretty certain that Dunleavy will as well, but it will be up to the other players to attack this weak defense that Minnesota has. Especially if the bigs can get the ball in the hoop, that could be vital if they want to win this game. If Ford can run the offense effectively and get all the guys going early, the Pacers can win this game Key Matchup This will definitely be big throughout the game. Not so much for Indiana, because we know what Granger can, and most likely will do. It's more whether the consistent Ryan Gomes will be able to step his game up on both ends and keep Mr Granger as in check as he can, while he attempts to fill it up on the offensive end himself.
The Pacers can't miss after the first. Murphy and Dunleavy, wow. And I didn't know Foster could shoot outside 1 inch. We're still in it though, playing hard.
WHEW...barely came away with a W in that one. That was not the ideal win, we need to play better in winnable games like that one. --EDIT- Kevin "the snub" Love- 15 points, 11 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Damn, I can't wait to get back to the States....I miss my NBA Big Ticket.....I wanna see Wolves games too.... We've benn trying to tell people that Kevin "where is the" Love...is really being showing he can be something more than just a modest contributor...I'm thinking shortly after the All-Star break he might get his chance to start and the mintes that go along with it (at least 10 more a game).
Well, Smith bruised a rib today, and didn't come back, so his chance to start may come sooner than the all star break. It may be tomorrow.
