Indiana Pacers vs Golden State Warriors

The Pacers get today off, and go back at it tomorrow night with a revenge type game against the Golden State Warriors.  Golden State got the better of Indiana in their previous meeting, so I look for the Pacers to make a statement by coming around to beat up the Warriors.  It should be interesting to see how Danny Granger fares with his second game back.  The first one, it took ten shots to finally get a basket.  But with the way the team was so excited about his first basket, you can see what an influence Granger is on them.  He’ll need to get going soon, so he can help with the starting line up.  If he struggles, who knows if we could see him working off the bench a bit longer than expected.  The Warriors can be an up and down team, so that could really test the stamina of what Granger has got.  But I look for the rest of the team to step up and take care of business like they have the past four games.  This could be a close one, but with the way the Pacers have been winning, I would love for that double figure winning to continue.

Indiana Pacers vs  Los Angeles Clippers

How do the Pacers slow down Chris Paul will be the story here.  David West going at Blake Griffin should be fun to watch as well. Being live at the game last year between these teams, I wasn’t that impressed with Griffin. I thought he got pushed around and seemed to shy away from contact after that.  That might be the best way to slow him down.  I don’t know if he knows how to handle a tough physical team, which could bode well for the Pacers.  That bench unit of the Clippers is tough as well, so the Pacers’ second unit will have to be at their best.  I think it could be a down to the wire win, and hopefully the Pacers are on that end of it.

Indiana Pacers  vs  Toronto Raptors

Guess who gave the Pacers one of their two losses this month?  That’s right, the Toronto Raptors. But I think the Pacers mainly gave that game away, even though the Raptors did make the plays to get the game tied and head into overtime.  The Pacers had a four point lead with 10 seconds left and couldn’t close out.  I hope they remember that, and come out firing in this game. You have a home game on Friday night, where you could get a rocking crowd, the last thing this Pacers team will need to do is lose that.  If they can come out and dominant from the get go, the better this game will be for them. Just step on the pedal, and push to the finish line.

Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls

You want a playoff like game, then watch this game between the Bulls and Pacers.  This is a game, where the Pacers could get a good lead in the division and build up the season series lead 3-0.  That could be important if the Pacers falter, and the Bulls end up tied with them. But right now, the Pacers have a 2.5 games lead, and are sitting pretty in second place in the Conference.   As long as they hold water the rest of the week, I imagine, they’ll still be in the division lead.  It could be down to a game or less, so that will be even more important to win. Plus, it’s a Bulls team that I want to beat.  This is probably close to a rival for the Pacers you can get, so beating your rival is always a good time.

It’s a good break in the action for a team that’s really been moving the first part of the season. It’s felt like there was a game always around the corner that first half. The Pacers also played their back to back to back, which was right in the middle of that five game losing streak. But they got on the right track with the third game getting a win against the Nets.

This week should be a good week to get some practices in, and shore up things on both sides of the ball. The Pacers were looking like a good defensive team in the early part of this season, and hopefully can get back to that. They need to start holding teams under 90 points, which is a high goal, but one that I think they can do against the lower tier teams. This Pacers team can go stagnant on offense at times, which is why I would say 90 is a good bench mark for opponents scoring.

Speaking of the offense, this would be a good time to get things moving on that side of the ball. There are those times when the offense doesn’t flow like it should, and some days of practice should get things right in that area.

Overall, this should be a week of two wins for the Pacers, and can keep this small winning streak alive till next Monday night when the Pacers have a date with the Chicago Bulls. The Pacers have already beat the Bulls once, so that team will be ready for this match with the Pacers. Riding a winning streak into that game can give this Pacers team a bunch of confidence that will be needed.