The Pacers Hit a Trio of Games This Week

This will be quite the interesting week for the Indiana Pacers as they enter the back to back to back part of their schedule.  Right now they are riding the wave of a three game losing streak, but hope to break that soon on Tuesday night with a win against the Miami Heat.

While this is going to be a tough task, there is the advantage of playing at home, and possibly having a huge crowd there to support the team.  Last time these two teams met, the Heat took that first game in Miami to the tune of  118-83.

While not a close game by any means, this Pacers team should be able to rebound and put up a better performance against one of the top teams in the East.

The Pacers starters have been playing better since thanks to the emergence of Paul George, who will be a part of All- Star Weekend, and Roy Hibbert, a reserve on the East All-Star Team. Danny Granger steps up his game when playing against a higher quality opponent, so look for him to up his game.  Darren Collison will run the team to the best of his ability either by scoring or his passing.  David West is a much better player as the season has gone on, and should give some assistance down low.

The bench will be key for the Pacers in this game.  They take so much pride in the fact that Tyler Hansbrough can be a big scorer for the second unit, and he will need to bring his intensity to this game.  The emergence of Lance Stephenson is going to help as well.  Still a bit immature about his game, Lance Stephenson has stepped up his offensive game at times.

Will this be a closer game then the previous outing?  Pacer fans are hoping just for a win and climb out of this funk that’s been hovering over the team the past week.  This is the first real losing streak the Pacers have endured, and it will show how far this team has come over the past year that Frank Vogel has taken over.

Look for the Pacers to up their game Tuesday night, and then head off to Cleveland for a game with the Cavs on Wednesday night.  That should be a win for the Pacers and then they travel back to the friendly confines of Bankers Life Fieldhouse to take on the New Jersey Nets, another  ”should win” game.  The Pacers could go 2-1 in those games as the Miami game will be a hard task, and could be a loss.  But finishing up by winning the next two at least gets this team back in the win column against lower competition.