Pacers vs Hornets: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Indiana Pacers (4-7) vs. Charlotte Hornets (4-7)

Guess who’s back? Back again. Born Ready’s back. Tell a friend.

That’s obviously the main narrative of tonight’s game as Lance Stephenson makes his return to Indiana for the two entities first regular season matchup since the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs. We’ve all ready hammered all the things the Pacers will miss with Stephenson gone, so it is time to move on. The Charlotte Hornets have already seen the best and worst of the Lance Stephenson experience, a roller coaster ride Indiana fans have taken and now Hornets fans are getting their turn.

Lance isn’t off to the best start in Charlotte as he’s averaging 9.8 points a game and only shooting 37.8%. It is too early to start talking about whether Stephenson regrets leaving the Pacers, but he and the entire Hornets roster needs to get their act together soon if they want to win. The Hornets offensive rating is at 97.2, down from last year and slightly worse than Indiana’s 97.5 so far this year. It isn’t helping the Hornets that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Gary Neal will be sitting out again with injures while P.J. Hairston (doubtful) and Marvin Williams (probable) aren’t guaranteed to return for tonight’s game either. Missing that much depth is something Indiana is aquatinted with, but at least for the Pacers they get back Rodney Stuckey tonight.

Indiana’s defense isn’t any easy to crack for the Hornets as Roy Hibbert is the league’s second-best rim defender, only behind Anthony Davis. I don’t think this will be anything like their matchup in March when Indiana was in full-on struggle mode and Al Jefferson scored 34 points to Hibbert’s 4. Hibbert is playing well so far this year and hasn’t had a game where he looked lost on the court like he did several months ago. With that notable exception, the matchup between the two has generally been a good scoring night for both players as they specialize in different areas of scoring.  One thing to note is that Charlotte is one of the least-reliant teams on close-range shots. So far they’ve relied on creating their own shots and pulling up from outside of the paint. That may keep them away from Hibbert, but that also has them settling for harder shots. If Indiana can’t get enough defense in the mid-range, a weak point in coach Frank Vogel’s scheme, then Charlotte has a chance to out shoot the Pacers and earn the win. But if those shots don’t fall, Indiana has the advantage as the Hornets get out of their comfort zone.

Who to watch on the Hornets: Lance Stephenson, this is your time to shine. This will be spectacular in one way or another. I imagine for a guy that effectively leads his team in creating his own shot with 61.9% of his points coming unassisted, this looks like a chance to try to get revenge single handily. But if he isn’t making his shots and gets frustrated, this  could go the way of Bad Lance.

Who to watch on the Pacers: Solomon Hill will likely be matched up with Lance Stephenson and be expected to make sure we see Bad Lance, not the one that have Pacers fans plenty of moments to remember.

The Big Question

Is the recent string of wins for Indiana sustainable? They’ve played well against playoff-caliber opponents as of late, wining 3 of the last 4. Charlotte is struggling to find their footing, but they have enough talent to beat this Pacers team if they can get their act together. Until David West and George Hill return, the Pacers are playing with the chips stacked against them.

Bonus question: Do Pacers fans boo Lance Stephenson?

Betting Line

Indiana is a -2.5 home favorite with 179.5 over/under. I think a plucky Indiana team can hold on against a struggling Charlotte squad. Take the Pacers and the over.

One Random Thing