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The Pacers are in town for a 6:00 pm start today, coming off a loss last night in Denver.
Indiana is having a tough year in the wake of injuries to Paul George and George Hill, and Lance Stevenson's departure for Charlotte. As a result they are relying on guys like Solomon Hill, Donald Sloan, and Chris Copeland for heavy minutes. and they have suffered to a 8-19 record.
Their offense has been terrible without George and others, 29th in the league and coming off a 73 point outing last night. They just have nowhere to go to get baskets, a problem Wolves fans are well acquainted with.
They have managed to maintain a top 10 defense, however, as Frank Vogel's system continues to limit good looks for opponents, and they remain one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the league. This could be a central match up tonight as the Wolves rely on offensive rebounds to generate offense, while the Pacers control the defensive boards effectively.
Notes
- Troy Daniels should be available for today's game. Would love to see him come in firing--the Wolves are desperate for 3 point shooting and need someone who can stretch the defense. Plus, fun.
- Something should happen today at the end of the roster. I believe Jeff Adrien's contract is up, and they will need to do something. They could sign him for the rest of the year, which would give them 15 players and a full roster, or they could go another direction.
- Darren Wolfson noted that the Wolves had a scout at the OSU-UNC/UK-UCLA games yesterday. And yes, we're already talking draft. That boulder rolled right back down the mountain pretty quick this year.
- The Wolves twitter account tweeted out that tonight's key match up is Shabazz Muhammad vs. Solomon Hill. Who would have believed it?
- The Wolves are home only for tonight, they head back out on the road for a 4 game, week long trip starting Tuesday in Cleveland, then to Denver, Golden State, and Utah on Dec. 30th. They are back home to host the Kings on New Year's Day.
- Sounds like the Deron Williams-to-Sac talk was a bit overblown, but still. Does Sac really want $50M a year for the next two years tied up in Boogie, Rudy Gay, and Williams?
- Rajon Rondo debuted for the Mavs last night in a win over the Spurs, who sat more or less everyone. It was surprisingly close. Kyle Anderson started for the Spurs, played 31 minutes, had 11 and 8 boards, and led the Spurs at +11. Not only is Pop the only coach in the league who would do that, it's notable that he sat everyone despite entering on a 3 game losing streak. Spurs are 0-4 in overtime games this season.