Essentials
- Teams: Indiana Pacers (35-43) at Detroit Pistons (30-48)
- Date: April 10
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
The Detroit Pistons will get another chance to dream about the postseason when they take on an Indiana Pacers team that’s in the playoff hunt.
This will mark Detroit’s third straight game against a team vying for a spot in the tournament after tilts against the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
Although the Pistons split those games, there is a realistic chance that the Pacers will have an easier time against Detroit when compared to Miami and Boston.
Indiana is simply better on paper in terms of talent and fit.
Its players complement each other fairly well despite the poor record, and the troubling season is more so a product of the absences of Lance Stephenson (free agency) and Paul George (leg injury).
George’s return gives the Pacers some added creativity on the wing, which invariably makes things easier for interior players like Roy Hibbert and David West. Pacers head coach Frank Vogel now has someone on the perimeter that demands a modicum of attention, which makes feeding guys on the interior a bit easier.
George isn’t the elite performer from last season quite yet, but he’s dangerous nonetheless. Basketball-Reference.com tells us he’s averaging 27.6 points and 4.8 steals per 36 minutes, while making 44 percent of his treys through two games.
His overall shooting (36.8 percent) and ball-handling (five turnovers in 30 total minutes of playing time) aren’t quite there as a result rust and the speed of the game; but a 6’9’’ small forward with supreme athleticism is always going to affect game plans.
Coincidentally – or not – the Pacers have won three in a row (two of those with George) by 15-plus points. Sure, the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and New York Knicks aren’t exactly a murderer’s row of opponents, but those are the kind of teams that prospective playoff squads must beat to get into the postseason, and Indiana has dispatched them pretty easily.
Detroit fits into that mold as well, which is why one can see why Indiana would have an edge against the Pistons.
Remember, less than a year ago, the Pacers were in the Eastern Conference Finals with George leading the same core. Thus, it’s not inconceivable that Indiana could run the regular-season table, get into the playoffs and make the Atlanta Hawks sweat just a bit.
Perhaps I’m looking a bit too far into the crystal ball, but the fact that anyone could see this as a realistic scenario speaks to the fact that Indy might just be a little better than most think.
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