By Sean Kennedy
Following their spirited overtime victory against the Bucks, the Sixers travel to Indiana to take on the title-contending Pacers. Both teams are playing their second game in two nights, as Indiana took down the Celtics in Boston on Friday night. The Pacers are tied with the Spurs for the best record in the NBA at 11-1, maintaining their identity as the best defensive team in the league.
The two main factors of the Pacers’ playoff success last season have carried over in a big way this season. First, Roy Hibbert has continued to be a terror protecting the rim, and is the front-runner for defensive player of the year. Indiana has the lowest opponent’s eFG%, largely due to the fact that opponents have shot a league-worst 43.8% from the restricted area when Hibbert is on the floor. The beauty of Hibbert’s defense is how he maintains his ‘vertical plain’, blocking shots while only committing 2.8 fouls per game; the Pacers as a team rarely foul, with the third-lowest opposing free throw rate in the league.
Not to bury the lede, but the other factor is the continued evolution of Paul George into arguably the third-best player in the NBA. Not only does George contribute to that Pacers defense as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, but he has taken a larger role running the Indiana offense. George is averaging career-highs at 24.6 ppg on 46.3% shooting and the team has shifted much of the play-making responsibility to him, especially in crunch time. George has taken his game to the next level and it looks like the Pacers have reached that next level as well.
No Pacers preview would be complete without mentioning my favorite guy on their squad. Lance Stephenson has already recorded two triple-doubles this season, and plays with the same, balls-to-the-wall style Sixers fans have come to appreciate about Tony Wroten, only Lance is bigger and a better outside shooter.
The Sixers may have ended their four-game losing skid against the Bucks Friday night, but Indiana and Milwaukee are about as far apart as the two-party political system. The Sixers are likely to be without two of their top 6 players in Thad Young and Tony Wroten, and facing the best team in the league. Don’t expect the good feelings from Friday night to carry over to Indianapolis.
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