Pacers vs Lakers: Indiana Looking To End Losing Streak
By Ben Gibson
Indiana Pacers (7-17) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7-16)
Indiana is on an eight-game losing skid and searching for the right recipe to end that streak, but the search is still under way. Early in the season the Los Angeles Lakers looked like they might have been an easy target to pick up a win to end Indiana’s misery, but the Fightin’ Kobe Bryants are currently on a three-game win streak, including a victory over the San Antonio Spurs. A number of Pacers fans, and maybe Paul George too, might have hoped to see Kobe Bryant pass Michael Jordan’s scoring mark at the Fieldhouse, but he took care of that against the Minnesota Timberwolves the night before. Kobe is now ahead of Michael Jordan on the all-time points list as the Black Mamba passed the mark of 32,292 to move up to third place all-time. Kobe will be looking to add some more points and track down Karl Malone on the list, but he’ll have a little tougher job going against the league’s 10th ranked defense. Indiana’s offense has looked particularly bad as of late and in fact over this losing streak it has been the worst in the league. Maybe that’s why Indiana is interested in trading for Lance Stephenson.
But that isn’t going to help the Pacers tonight. The Lakers are in the middle of the road in both offensive and defensive rating, playing a similar pace as Indiana. What is going to make this difficult on the Pacers is the fact Los Angeles offense can get points while also playing defense well enough to not let things get out of control. We’ve see how tough it is for Indiana to win if they aren’t able to score with any consistency. The Pacers must avoid the extended scoring droughts that have plagued them in recent games if they want to beat the Lakers.
Who to watch on the Lakers: Kobe Bryant, as if you were going to pay attention to anyone else. Well, maybe Nick Young too. It is Kobe and Swaggy P against the world, and you better bet they are coming out guns blazing.
Who to watch on the Pacers: Roy Hibbert is back to being bad Roy Hibbert. During this eight-game skid he’s been averaging only 8.7 points a game a game and like most of the starters, has a +/- rating in negative double-digits. Indiana needs to find out a way to jump-start him and get Hibbert at least back to normal. Roy’s poor play has been one of the main reasons why Indiana is struggling. He is still playing defense, but not being a threat offensively isn’t helping the Pacers offense spread the floor out.
The Big Question
Can Indiana end their losing streak tonight? It is the question until they do. This is Indiana’s longest losing streak since Frank Vogel took over as head coach and while there are plenty of good reasons why it has been so hard as of late, it is getting depressing seeing loss after loss. Indiana’s offense needs a boost, and while Hibbert’s poor play is easy to point at, the offense is down as a whole. Anybody stepping up might swing things Indiana’s way.
The Betting Line
Indiana is a -5 home favorite with a 199 over/under. I’d take the under and the Pacers to win and cover the spread.
One Random Thing
Passing MJ on the all-time scoring list will at least earn you a cake.