Indiana Pacers (1-5) vs Washington Wizards (4-2)
Tell me if you’ve heard this before: Roy Hibbert plays well, but the Indiana Pacers still lose. That was the story on Friday night against the Boston Celtics and a similar tale played out on Wednesday night when the Pacers went to overtime with the Washington Wizards. Though Hibbert didn’t have his best night against the Wizards, he shook it off to throw down 22 points in his next game. Will he be able to do any better against Washington this time? Or do the Wizards have his number?
Washington will be in Indianapolis tonight to play the Pacers, but the matchup of Hibbert vs Marcin Gortat and Nene isn’t any easier. If Roy can get a bit more offense going then Indiana’s chances of winning are better. Anything is better than the nothing he had in the two teams’ first showdown. The Pacers need Chris Copeland chucker mentality on the Indiana offense right now, but if he struggles the rest of the roster has to step up, and as a leader, Roy must as well.
Who to watch on the Wizards: John Wall went off for 31 points against the Pacers on Wednesday and with Roy Hibbert being the only proven defender on the floor, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do something similar. Indiana can’t let him have easy access to the paint this time around. The Pacers allowed nearly half of Wall’s points on fast breaks (and 25.8 percent off turnovers) so cutting down on those mistakes (18 on Wednesday) and allowing Roy to get in place defensively will increase Indiana’s chances of picking up their second win. Slow the speed of the game down and you take away Wall’s and Washington’s best weapon.
Who to watch on the Pacers: Roy Hibbert didn’t have his best showing offensively on Wednesday with no field goals, but he still be a defensive power. If Indiana can find ways to get him the ball and score, they won’t have to rely on less efficient scorers shooting too much. Roy needs to step up tonight if the Pacers are going to win.
The Big Question
Can Donald Sloan score 31 points again? Probably not, but he scored 15 (his season average) in Boston and has shown needed aggressiveness of offense to try to create some motion and get the offense going. If he can do anything close to keep pace with Wall, then Indiana’s chances to win increase. The Pacers need him to shoot better as he’s only making 40 percent of his shots this season. Sloan and Copeland are volume scorers so any improvement in accuracy might help Indiana win a close game. With George Hill expected out for another month, Sloan needs to continue improving.
Betting Line
Washington is only a 3-point favorite with the over under at 184. I’d take the under on points, but I want to take Indiana to cover, and maybe even win tonight. I’ll probably be wrong though.
One Random Thing
C.J. Miles wants to win a Grammy one day. I want him to make a shot.