The Road Warriors series will be highlighting the Indiana Pacers road trips and how they have fared historically in opposing arenas. This time, we come in stumbling into the nation’s capital.
The post-Victor Oladipo era has gotten off to a tumultuous start. The Indiana Pacers have dropped two consecutive games and are in danger of dropping three straight for the first time since the first day of 2018.
The last time we saw the blue and gold on the court was Monday where the Golden State Warriors stomped on the entire city from Meridian Hills to UIndy. They come into this matchup with the Wizards with a 32-17 record, effectively tied with the 76ers for third place in the Eastern Conference.
According to Land of Basketball, this is the 177th meeting between the Pacers and Washingtons franchise. Since the Wizards changed their name from the Bullets in 1997, the Pacers actually have a winning record in DC. They are 20-18, including a series split last season on the road. The Pacers won both of their meetings at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in December of this season, holding the Wizards to just 89 points in the most recent meeting.
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The Wizards are having identity issues all over their roster which has led to a disappointing 21-29 record. Actually, disappointing isn’t quite strong enough to describe what has transpired in Washington. They are capable of winning any given night but are coming off an embarrassing loss against the Cavaliers. They currently sit in tenth place and have a below-.500 record against the East. This has led to another year of speculation that the front office will soon be offering a fire sale on all assets.
Their roster is currently led by the dangerous Bradley Beal, who is averaging close to 25 points per game. Former first overall pick John Wall has not played in a month and does not look to be coming back in the near future. Outside of solid role players Otto Porter Jr and the newly acquired Trevor Ariza, the rest of their team is full of streaky potential or college hoop heroes that never materialized. There is really no rhyme or reason as to when this team plays well, it just kind of happens.
The last time these two teams played there was a war of jaws between Beal and Pacers center Myles Turner. If Turner continues to make plays like this, I would imagine that Beal decides to keep his mouth shut tonight. Even without the stability of Victor Oladipo and Tyreke Evans already ruled out, the Pacers seem to be righting the ship.
Prediction: Pacers 107 Wizards 98, Turner scores 20+ and Edmond Sumner shows why he is starting again.
What’s in town?
If you didn’t notice, it’s very cold. I say that as we have a sunny 70 degrees on the Atlantic Ocean where I am. The weather will get down to a low of around eight degrees so please be careful outside. DC is a really cool city and one of the few I recommend doing touristy things in. Check out the National Mall and all the museums, worth all the walking.