Indiana Pacers Weekly Preview
The Indiana Pacers have rattled off four straight wins by double figures to get right back into the mindset of people who were questioning the team after a small two game skid. Paul George is firing on all cylinders. Lance Stephenson is making a case for an All Star bid. The defense is back to defending strong. This is a team when you look over this next week could still be winning games. A couple of games against a not so good Cleveland team. A game with the Toronto Raptors, who are leading a bad Atlantic division. A game with the Pelicans. Four games on deck this week, and four games that could be wins for the Blue and Gold.
Tuesday, December 31st
Indiana Pacers
host
Cleveland Cavaliers
Get your New Year’s Eve party started right by taking in a game at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse to see the Pacers take on the Cavs. This is a game that I fully anticipate the Pacers having control most of the way. Kyrie Irving is the guy to keep an eye on the Cavs’ side of things. But Roy Hibbert and David West should have strong games against the not so big men of Cleveland. Look for the usual antics by Lance Stephenson as he’s had a strong week last week and is showing what a force he’s becoming. Pacers win by 10 or more to keep the streak going of a double figure win.
Wednesday, January 1st
Indiana Pacers
at
Toronto Raptors
The Pacers will be breaking in the New Year in Toronto with a game against the Raptors. I had to look at the standings of the Atlantic division to see who was leading that. The Raptors are a couple of games under .500, but they’re sitting in first place in the division. The Pacers took care of business last game with the Raptors, and that was with Rudy Gay there. No Rudy Gay there now to do the scoring for Toronto, so I expect another Pacers win. I do think those back to back evenings are a bit tough, so this game will probably be one of the closer games the Pacers have played over the past couple of weeks. But still expect another Pacers W.
Saturday, January 4th
Indiana Pacers
host
New Orleans Pelicans
This coming Saturday will be busy for the sport fans here in town. The Indianapolis Colts kick off their first round playoff game at home against Kansas City early in the day. Then the Indiana Pacers play host to the New Orleans Pelicans. I love those times when both the Pacers and Colts are playing. This should be a fun Saturday for fans in town. Take in the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium, then head over to the Pacers game. Those two venues should work out some deal for that. This game for the Pacers should be another tough one as New Orleans has looked much better than anticipated. Anthony Davis could be tough to contend with in the post, so that will be fun to watch Roy Hibbert go at him. David West and Ryan Anderson will be another matchup to watch. Anderson has been scoring quite well for the Pelicans with his 20 points a game. West is a strong guy that likes to take up that challenge, I fully expect him to embrace that. Last game, I called for the Pacers to lose to the Pelicans, and they came out on top in the second game of the year. This time around, I’ll go with another Pacers win. Hopefully, this won’t jinx them.
Sunday, January 5th
Indiana Pacers
at
Cleveland Cavaliers
This time around the Pacers travel to Cleveland, but I don’t think that makes any difference. You come off a game the night before, so maybe that impacts it a bit. But once again, I expect the Pacers to go four straight wins this week, and to finish up with a road win is always a great ending.