GAME THREAD: BLAZERS @ PACERS - DECEMBER 13, 2014 - SATURDAY, 4:00 PM (PST), CSN

PROBABLE STARTERS


PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

THE RAINBROZ


NICOLAS BATUM (SF) , LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE (PF)


ROBIN LOPEZ (C)




INDIANA PACERS

C.J. WATSON(PG) , RODNEY STUCKEY (SG)


C.J. MILES (SF) , DAVID WEST (PF)


ROY HIBBERT(C)







WHEN: 4:00 PM, SATURDAY, 12/13/2014​

WHERE: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN​

TV BROADCAST:





RADIO BROADCAST:


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BENCH

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

BLAKE , CRABBE , FREELAND , KAMAN


INDIANA PACERS


SLOAN, HILL , COPELAND , RUDEZ , SCOLA , ALLEN



INJURIES
TRAIL BLAZERS
C.J. McCollum (Fractured Right Index Finger): OUT
PACERS
Paul George (Fractured Right Tibia/Fibula): OUT
George Hill (Left Knee Contusion): OUT
Ian Mahinmi (Torn Left Plantar Fascia): OUT
C.J. Miles (Knee Contusion): PROBABLE



HEAD COACHES
- VS –
TERRY STOTTS --- FRANK VOGEL




BLAZERS' GAME NOTES ​

GO BLAZERS!!!​

 

Blazers @ IND Game Preview (12/13/14):

Them: 7-16, 4th in NBA Central Division

Our Last game: L @ CHI 115-106, 12/12/14.

Their Last game: L @ TOR, 106-94

Changes to their roster: It’s hard to know where the Pacers will end up this season, but we can at least say this with a fair amount of certainty: no team loses its two best players and gets better. Having lost Lance Stephenson to free agency and Paul George to a freak leg injury, Indiana will start the season without 40 percent of its starting lineup, and what remains doesn’t exactly elicit a ton of confidence for a return to the postseason. The mercurial Roy Hibbert is now the team’s best player, but his inconsistency is pretty well-documented. George Hill, David West and a cast of so-so bench players won’t be enough to survive what looks to be an absolutely barbaric Central Division this year. The Pacers have been a feel-good story for a few years now, an easy group of guys to like, but they probably won’t even make the playoffs this year.
The Pacers are hard-capped at $80.8 million after using their $5.3 million Mid-Level Exception on C.J. Miles and Damjam Rudez. Indiana used their Bi-Annual Exception last season on C.J. Watson, so it isn’t available this season – although the team gained a $5.3 million Disabled Player Exception for Paul George (expiring 3/10/15). The bigger issue for the Pacers is avoiding the luxury tax altogether. With Scola, the team’s payroll is already at $73.3 million — $3.5 million under the tax threshold. Indiana also has a $4.3 million trade exception for Danny Granger (expiring 2/20/15) but that may too go unused with the tax in mind.

Injury Updates: CJ McCollum, Out (finger). Will Barton (day-to-day)
Paul George 2014-08-01 right leg surgery is out indefinitely (out)
George Hill 2014-10-27 bruised left knee/torn ligament in quadricep is out indefinitely (out)
Ian Mahinmi 2014-12-06 torn left plantar fascia is expected to miss 6-8 weeks (out)
C.J. Miles 2014-12-12 bruised left knee left Friday's game against Toronto (probable)

Matchups:

PG: Damian Lillard v. CJ Watson (9.6ppg, 4.4apg, 2.6rpg)
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Rodney Stuckey (12.4ppg, 2.4rpg, 2.3apg)
SF: Nic Batum v. CJ Miles (9.1ppg, 2.1rpg)
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge v. David West (14.0ppg, 6.0rpg)
C: Robin Lopez v. Roy Hibbert (13.2ppg, 8.0rpg)

Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: To see how much the 2-game losing streak on the 2nd of a Back-to-Back and 4th-in-5 nights to a team that played us hard a week ago. To see if Coach has solved the IND defense. To see if Nic can get out of his shooting slump (he made a few shots after starting 0-6 yesterday). To see if Dame and LMA stay hot after dropping 35 each against CHI.

Current Power Rankings:

RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (27) The only 2 guard on their roster is Rodney Stuckey. And that's probably their fifth biggest problem.

ESPN: (23) The Pacers have been through enough in 2014. Gonna try as hard as I can not to chide 'em too much for backing out of a deal with our guy Gal Mekel because they thought securing him a new visa would take days, only for New Orleans to sort out a new visa for Mekel in 24 hours.

Covers.com (22) The Pacers are another team covering at a 60 percent clip so far (9-2 ATS road record). But they've lost five in a row straight up and as bad as the East may be, I do not see this as a playoff team.

NBA.com (23) Pace: 94.1 (26), OffRtg: 97.5 (27), DefRtg: 102.3 (9), NetRtg: -4.8 (22)
Lance Stephenson has had issues adjusting in Charlotte, but the guy who replaced him in Indiana might be a bigger free agency disappointment. C.J. Miles' effective field goal percentage has fallen from 54 percent last season to 32 percent this year, by far the biggest drop-off in the league. Indy has lost four straight, scoring just 93 points per 100 possessions..

Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
Link to MediocreMan's Over/Under game

Links to other team’s site(s): http://www.nba.com/pacers/ Pacers’ NBA page
NBA.com game preview

Final Thoughts: I find it hard to think that POR will end up with a 3-game losing streak on this trip against the E-League and MIN. IND has lost 6 in a row and haven’t really been close with many of them. Anytime a coach makes wholesale changes to his starting lineup, you know you’re dealing with some desperation. Still, we haven’t seen POR step on the necks of anyone since Denver a month ago. Scary game, and I’d love to have some homerism and predict another blowout, but I can’t say when the team’s going to show up or not, and when Coach will go to energy on the bench or not.

Blazers 105
IND 96

 

Game Preview updated in Post 2

 

don't get free throws doing that.