Next Up - The Pacers

The Pacers played on the road last night against the Bulls winning by 2 points 107-105.

The most recent history reveals Boston beating them  twice in the first half of the season and them returning the favor beating us twice during the second half of the season.  These results are most unusual.

So let's take a look at what The Celtics have to deal with tonight.  

The Pacers are 6-3 so far and are averaging 108.6 PPG.  They are giving up a rather stingy 102.9 PPG.

Their starting 5 consists of Thadeous Young (PF), Miles Turner (C) Bojan Bogdanovic (SF), Darren Collison (PG) and Victor Olidipo (SG)
Nate McMillian has instilled a defensive mindset for this team.

On offense, the Pacers are shooting .397% from deep but they only take 22.7 per game.  The guys that will take and make 3 pointers include Olidipo, Bogdanovic , BU PG Cory Joseph, Tyreke Evans and  Doug McDermott who they added this year.   They do not however defend the perimeter very well.

I watched them play the other night and BU PF/C Sabonis is really thick in his arms and shoulders.  Maybe that is one reason why he leads them in rebounding at almost 9 per game.

They use a deep rotation and have 6 guys averaging double figures and Collison is right there at 9.7 PPG.
One guy that has really started to play well as of late is Tyreke Evans who they added this year.

The Celtics need to contain Olidipo and defend the perimeter because the Pacers are selective in taking 3 point shots but they do shoot them well.  The Pacers are a horrible FT shooting team so I would not hesitate one bit to foul guys like Olidipo, Young, Turner,.
The team is only shooting .702 from the line.

I have been just digging away trying to figure out what makes this team tick.  Nothing comes out.  They are pretty much an old school team with a well balanced offensive attack and have a good defense.

You know that their coach will place an emphasis on defending the 3 after Boston's  long distance barrage the other night.  Boston should be mindful not to fall into that trap.  They need to drive the ball more on offense and keep a good pace.  They need to check Sabonis on the glass and throw different looks at Olidipo.  Defending the pick and roll will also go a long way in securing a win.  The Pacers 3 losses this year included scoring problems (101, 91 and 93 points scored)

This looks like a very winnable road game because the Pacers played a really tough game last night on the road.