Tip: 7:00pm Court: Conseco Fieldhouse Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI
Referees: Ed Malloy, Rodney Mott, Haywoode Workman
The Matchup
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| Record: 51-21 (1st Atlantic, 2nd East) | Record: 32-42 (2nd Central, 8th East) |
| On The Road: 22-13 | At Home: 19-16 |
| Streak: Won 1 | Streak: Lost 2 |
| Leaders | Leaders |
| Buckets: Pierce (18.6 ppg) | Buckets: Danny Granger (20.6 ppg) |
| Boards: KG (9.0 rpg) | Boards: Roy Hibbert (7.6 rpg) |
| Dimes: Rondo (11.4 apg) | Dimes: Darren Collison (5.0 apg) |
| For the Stat Geeks: | For the Stat Geeks: |
| Offensive Rating: 106.4 (19th NBA) | Offensive Rating: 104.3 (24rd NBA) |
| Defensive Rating: 99.8 (1st NBA) | Defensive Rating: 105.8 (12th NBA) |
| Pace: 90.4 (22nd NBA) | Pace: 94.7 (6th NBA) |
Last time
The C's bench sparked the C's out of an early malaise, and then the starters dominated the 3rd quarter and cruised to a 92-80 win at home. Paul Pierce had 20 and Jeff Green had 19 off the bench.
This time
Get it to: Ray Allen
Ray is due for a big game and he historically shoots well when he's in Indy. Get Ray some good mid-range shots early and then let him heat up from three. Nothing helps the C's build up a big lead quickly like a hot Ray Allen.
Gotta stop: Tyler Hansbrough
I'll use the same reasoning I used the last time I previewed a game between these teams: Hansbrough is having a great month, and Danny Granger is probably going to get his. So don't let Tyler torch you to put the nail in the coffin. He's averaging 18.2 ppg in March and 18.7 over his last 10. The C's can survive Granger being Granger… but they won't if Tyler's going off.
The Wild Card: Jeff Green
A repeat of his 19 point outing against the Pacers would really be a huge help. If he and Baby can lead the charge off the bench, then we're looking at a much more comfortable night.
How we see it goin' down
Let's see what we've got here:
- listless C's just begging for the regular season to end
- second night of a back-to-back on the road
- big matchup against the Spurs on Thursday
- desperate Pacers team trying to fend off the Bobcats for a playoff spot
Everything points to the C's losing this game. They're terrible in back-to-backs… they'll certainly be looking ahead to a game they'll be interested in playing… and the Pacers are a far better team at home than they are on the road. We're looking at a 96-89 loss.
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