DESTROY THE DISNEYS!
Not a Redickulous Thought...
Not a Redickulous Thought...
-VS-
Game Time Start: 7:00 PM EST
Where: The Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Officials: K. Mauer, D. Jones, L. Wood, S. Wall
Media Notes: Indiana Notes, Orlando Notes
Television:
Local Radio: WIBC 93.1 FM
NBA Feeds:
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Projected Starting Lineup: | |||||
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Projected Starting Lineup: | |||||
Pacers Leandro Barbosa, sprained ankle, questionable Darren Collison, sore groin, probable Magic Glen Davis, sprained ankle, probable Dwight Howard, herniated disc, out |
Video Playoff Series Previews: |
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Eight Points, Nine Seconds Preview: |
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Jared Wade: Pacers vs. Magic - 2012 Playoff Series Preview It starts tonight. The heavily favored Pacers square off against the Magic tonight at 7:00 pm in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Without Dwight Howard, most experts agree: Orlando is a dead team walking. It seems impossible that Stan Van Gundy, almost certainly a lame-duck coach with only a week or two left on the job, will be able to rally his troops enough for them to mount a true threat to Indiana. The interior advantage the Pacers have will likely be just too much to handle. And while the Magic can still be deadly from behind the arc, three- point shooting has rarely propelled a lesser team to victory in a seven-game series. The outcome, then, may be anticlimactic, but this is just how Pacers fans should want it. The team hasn’t won a playoff series since 2005 so getting a wounded opponent is just what the Dr. (Hibbert) ordered. There is still plenty to watch for, however. Four of the Pacers five highest-scoring players this season have never played in the second round of the playoffs. With the addition of David West (24 career playoff games), George Hill (20), Leandro Barbosa (64) and Lou Amundson (18), the roster does now have considerably more postseason experience than last year’s near-playoff-virgin squad did when they faced the Bulls. But nobody on this roster has played together in the second round, and none of the guys who played in that Chicago series have ever played in playoff series in which they were favored. So it will be interesting to see how they respond. To falter to such a degree that they lose to the Magic would be a collapse too large to even discuss before game one. But it will be important to see how they respond if — and when — some adversity surfaces. Because Orlando will make enough runs in most of these games to steal momentum. They have plenty of offensive firepower to trade blows with Indiana, which is prone to some long scoring droughts. Will the Pacers respond by going back to their strengths of pounding the ball inside and moving it around the perimeter? Will any of the sometimes-hesitant- to-shoot players (looking at you, Paul George) shy away? Will the Darren- Collison-as-backup-point-guard experiment face more hurdles than expected? Will Roy Hibbert play like the All-Star he was this season or post a line like 7 and 5? Will Tyler Hansbrough make jumpers? Other than concerns related to inexperience and psychology, the key for Indiana will be stopping...CONTINUE READING AT 8p9s ENJOY ALL OF 8p9s POST-SEASON COVERAGE HERE |
MAGIC BASKETBALL | |||
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5-on-5 roundtable: Previewing Magic-Pacers “We all we got.” Glen Davis came up with the slogan in response to the Orlando Magic’s whirlwind regular season that has been decimated by injuries, punctuated with Dwight Howard needing season-ending back surgery to repair a herniated disk. Dwight done for the year, Hedo Turkoglu still recovering from facial fracture surgery (he donned a mask for Thursday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies), and Davis — himself — trying to heal a sprained right ankle as fast as possible, it’s no surprise the Magic have taken on a bunker- like mentality. And for Orlando, in a season which has featured a lot of drama and controversy, it’s only fitting that they will be playing with their backs against the wall in their first round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers. The Magic have been playing with their backs against the all practically all year, what with Dwight’s saga dominating the headlines. But will any of that matter? Does Orlando, with the odds heavily stacked against them, stand a chance against the Indiana Pacers? The crew at Magic Basketball, with the help from our friends over at Eight Points, Nine Seconds, attempt to find that out. What is the greatest matchup advantage for the Magic? Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: There are few teams capable of truly guarding Ryan Anderson when he’s stretched out. Certainly Indiana has the advantage inside, but if Anderson can stretch things out and catch fire it might create some problems for the Pacers. Then again, with Dwight out and Anderson on the three-point line I have to wonder who is going to rebound the ball. Danny Nowell, Magic Basketball: Ryan Anderson. “The Grenade Launcher” should be able to draw some of Indiana’s considerable brawn out of the paint and free some things up for a hopefully dialed-in Jameer Nelson. It’s really the Magic’s only hope, as I see things. Matt Scribbins, Magic Basketball: With the current roster, Ryan Anderson is the greatest matchup advantage no matter who the Magic play. Other teams, including the Pacers, do not have players who can defend a stretch four that knocks down shots consistently from beyond the arc. Tim Donahue, Eight Points, Nine Seconds: Ryan Anderson vs. the Pacer starting bigs. Neither David West nor Roy Hibbert are fleet of foot, and a stretch big like Anderson can pull either of them far out of their comfort zone defensively. A big series by Anderson will not only weaken the Pacer D by spreading them out, but could force the Pacers to go small. Jared Wade, Eight Points, Nine Seconds: Ummm … hmmm … let me see if … got nothing. Would perhaps say the coach if I didn’t presume a few of the players hate Stan now and Frank Vogel hadn’t been so good this season. But, otherwise, just not seeing a single advantage for the Magic without Dwight. What is the greatest matchup advantage for the Pacers? Drexler: Roy Hibbert will not be contained by any of the “bigs” left in Orlando. We cannot forget that Hibbert is an All-Star center and an extreme talent, especially when he’s not restricted by the best center in the league. Look for Indiana to pound the ball in and let Hibbert go to work. Nowell: Defensive length. I was going to write “post depth,” since the Magic have precisely none right now and will likely get feasted on by Hibbert and West. But this applies across the board; at almost every position, the Pacers have an athlete who can disrupt Orlando’s already limited ability to create shots. Scribbins: Once again, with the current roster, almost every team is going to have an advantage inside against Orlando. It’s a tough task to lose the most dominant center in the game and still compete inside. David West and Roy Hibbert will dominate. Donahue: The Pacer starting bigs vs. Orlando’s bigs. With no Dwight, both Hibbert and West should have an advantage in the post over whoever is guarding them. If the Pacers are able to get these two consistent touches on the block, I can’t see the Magic being able to make stops. Wade: Roy Hibbert. I thought it was a little silly when the Magic gave so much money to Marcin Gortat to back up Howard. They could really use him back right now though, eh? There isn’t a player on Orlando’s roster who can even consider stopping Hibbert. Fortunately for Magic fans, sometimes the Pacers do that themselves by simply ignoring him. But I think at least one 27-12 game can be expected from the big fella. Who is the x-factor in this series for the Pacers? Drexler: Paul George. In...CONTINUE READING AT MAGIC BASKETBALL |
Hickory-High | |||
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Jordan Kahn: Indiana and Orlando - By The Tape Jordan Kahn breaks down the latest NBA trends in video form. You can find more of his work at Basketball Things and follow him on Twitter @AyoitsJordan. With Dwight Howard missing the playoffs, most pundits are picking the Pacers to beat the Magic with relative ease. With the help of mySynergy Sports, let’s take a look at how the Pacers can take advantage of the new-look Magic and how Orlando can change things up without Dwight. Indiana It may be surprising, but the Magic ranked last in the NBA in defending the post, and that was with Dwight Howard in the lineup for the majority of the year. Now that Howard is out, Roy Hibbert will be facing one of Glen Davis, Ryan Anderson, Earl Clark, or Daniel Orton in the post. In case there was any doubt about that being a mismatch, the chart below shows how bad those four have been as post defenders. Orton allows the fewest points per possession, but he has been on the floor so little that he doesn’t qualify to be ranked. The rest of the frontcourt ranges from meh to very bad as post defenders. Once Hibbert starts scoring the post, things will open things up for the rest of the Pacers. Hibbert is a pretty good passer, so one thing the Pacers wings do cut off Hibbert after they throw the post entry. The clips below show a few examples. Even if the wing defender doesn’t lose his man, he can just be pushed into Hibbert, who serves as a screener. When the Pacers aren’t cutting to the basket, they can spot up for threes. Instead of just standing and waiting for the ball to come, Indiana has set screens for Danny Granger to get him open. The video below shows Granger’s man giving him a bit too much space and then getting caught by surprise on a David West screen. The post player in the video clips is Paul George, but this action could easily be run with Hibbert in the post, as well. Speaking of Granger using screens...CONTINUE READING AT HICKORY-HIGH |
140 Characters of (Non-PD) Coverage | Pacers Mike Wells @MikeWellsNBA Jared Wade @8pts9secs Tim Donahue @TimDonahue8p9s Tom Lewis @indycornrows Ian Levy @HickoryHigh | Magic Orlando Sentinel @joshuabrobbins Magic Basketball @erivera7 Orlando Pinstripe Post @BQRMagic |
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