Pacers vs Grizzlies: Grit and Grind

Indiana Pacers (1-0) vs Memphis Grizzlies (1-0)

It is a battle of the unbeatens as the Memphis Grizzlies come to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to face the Indiana Pacers. Perfection is on the line… OK, maybe it is a little to early to take any thing from this season, but both Indiana and Memphis took care of business to start things off right in their opening games. In Indiana’s win Roy Hibbert looked like the All-Star level player he’s capable of being, leading the way with 22 points and 7 blocks.  The offense was even borderline watchable! While it isn’t time to buy playoff tickets yet, Pacers fans can be happy with the fact Donald Sloan looked like a NBA point guard and Rodney Stuckey was able was able to drive to the basket to get points and occasionally distribute the ball. But it was the 76ers.

So how will the Pacers fair against a Western Conference playoff team?

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph dominated in their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Gasol scoring 32 points and Z-Bo tacking on 25. They combined for 22 rebounds as well. Throw in Tony Allen and the Pacers front court may be in trouble on Friday night. It will be the Grit and Grind triumvirate against Roy (OK, that’s fine), Luis Scola (Oh.) and Solomon Hill (Oh no.)  While Hill was a neutral influence on the game, Scola’s defense and four turnovers were bad enough that a 5 of 9 shooting performance couldn’t cover it up. If Scola’s defense is as poor as it was on Wednesday, it won’t matter how many shots Roy Hibbert swats. Last year Memphis limited Hibbert to 1 of 4 shooting in their first match up during Indiana’s winning streak to start the season, and later in the year Hibbert went 2 of 5 during The Struggle. It is a tough match up for any big, but without big threats in the backcourt this time around, it could be even worse.

Who to watch on the Grizzlies: Z-Bo. While Hibbert may be able to limit Gasol, but Randolph vs Scola doesn’t sound like a favorable match up at all.

Who to watch on the Pacers: Chris Copeland had 11 points coming off the bench in the opener and played well enough on defense to not be a liability. In fact the Pacers were +14 when he was in the game. Indiana will need him to stretch the floor as Gasol, Randolph, and Allen will be capable of slowing the Pacers opportunities on the interior.

The Big Question

Will the Memphis front court eat Indiana’s alive? Just looking at the matchups, you can’t say they are in Indiana’s favor. One of the way’s to get past Hibbert is to force him to help out the power forward on defense and take himself out of prime defensive positioning. Without having  a swingman or guards that can draw enough attention offensively, it could be trouble for the Pacers when they want to score. If Memphis packs the lane and challenges the Pacers to try their luck, the offense could be in for a long night as well.

Betting Line

Memphis is a -6.5 favorite. I’d be willing to favor them at home to cover that under most circumstances, and with the Pacers dealing with so many injuries, they should be able to cover.  The over/under is 183 with most taking the over, but I might worry that the Pacers offense could be stifled to the point stopping the teams from making it there.

One Random Thing

This.

Relevant GIF

The bear was later released back into the wild.

Terrible Photoshop

Frank Vogel might be fighting up a few weight classes against that bear.