8 points, 9 seconds
Fansided

Indiana Pacers and the week ahead: Road trip drama

By Ethan Krieger

SAN ANTONIO,TX - JANUARY 21 : LaMarcus Aldridge #12 of the San Antonio Spurs has the ball stripped by Thaddeus Young #21 of the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center on January 21, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO,TX - JANUARY 21 : LaMarcus Aldridge #12 of the San Antonio Spurs has the ball stripped by Thaddeus Young #21 of the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center on January 21, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /
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SAN ANTONIO, TX – JANUARY 21: Patty Mills #8 of the San Antonio Spurs drives on Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center on January 21, 2018, in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX – JANUARY 21: Patty Mills #8 of the San Antonio Spurs drives on Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center on January 21, 2018, in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /

Game 5: San Antonio Spurs – Wednesday, 8:30 PM

Up next, the Indiana Pacers take on the San Antonio Spurs, who are without their former two-way beast of a small forward, the broken laughing robot Kawhi Leonard. Leonard also demanded a trade this summer and got his way before the season began, unlike Jimmy Butler.

After a period of every NBA fan in the country waiting with bated breath to see if the Lakers could pull off a deal to pair Kawhi with LeBron James in Los Angeles, Head Coach Gregg Popovich did the most Popovich thing ever and shipped Kawhi up to Canada. The main piece in return, of course, was the always threatening shooting guard, DeMar DeRozan.

The Spurs made the best of a tough situation, but their season outlook got infinitely bleaker when their starting point guard, Dejounte Murray, was lost for the season to a nasty ACL tear in a preseason game. Their highly touted rookie, Lonnie Walker IV, is also out for the season with a torn meniscus.

Still, the Spurs have some solid dudes in DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. DeMar is averaging an impressive 28 points per game so far and made a dagger in their first game to secure a victory over the Timberwolves in San Antonio’s only win of the season so far. Aldridge is putting up a dominant 16.5 points per game along with 13.5 rebounds, so Indy’s frontcourt will have to do their best to fight for every board on Wednesday.

After those two guys, however, the Spurs just don’t have the depth we’re used to seeing from them. This was a factor in their only other game of the new season against the Portland Trailblazers, a game in which the Spurs were defeated 121-108. Being coached by Popovich makes the Spurs a threat at all times, but this one should be a Pacers victory.

Prediction: Pacers over Spurs 106-99

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