NBA Matchups: March 4

Indiana Pacers at Detroit Pistons (back end)

Team Totals: Pacers 116.3, Pistons 113.3

Injury Report: PIstons didn’t submit, Goga Bitadze (Q, toe), Chris Duarte (Q, toe), Lance Stephenson (P, ankle)

Pacers projected starters: Tyrese Haliburton, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield , Oshae Brissett, Isaiah Jackson

Pistons projected starters: Killian Hayes, Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart (Note: Guessing CoJo rests)

Carlisle quotes: Said Brogdon can play 1-5 if they need him to, said Brogdon did not need any time off and he kept asking him about sitting him, said Brogdon was the best player on the floor against the Magic.

Casey quotes: Said Livers and Frank were out of rhythm, said he thinks Isaiah Livers is going to be a player for them, said he moved Hayes to the bench because it gave him more opportunity and his decisions were good in the last one.

Stats and Notes: 

*Indiana’s defense continues to be one of the worst in the NBA at 28th overall and 29th in halfcourt in 2022. They continue to rely on their rim protection way too much, and it leads to teams smashing on them in the paint. The Pistons have also lost their grip on the defensive end as they’ve slipped a little to be in the bottom five for most defensive categories. This is an excellent game environment with a tight spread.

*Bigs have given the Pacers work lately, and we’ve seen some minutes consistency from Isaiah Stewart in the last few weeks. He’s played 27-plus minutes in seven of his last eight games despite fouling a decent amount. If he avoids fouls, it could lead to a big game. 

*Cade Cunningham is turning the corner somewhat literally. He’s up to 17 drives per game after the break and he’s taking as many shots off drives as Trae Young in that span (12.7 pre-break drives). Cade has also generally run into some bad matchups and his minutes are ticking up slightly when the Pistons are in games. If CoJo does rest, Cade could erupt.

*The Pacers protect the 3-point line, so that would attract me to Jerami Grant over Saddiq Bey. Grant is playing lights out right now, and I could see him putting up a monster in one of the best matchups out there for him.

*Holy Malcolm Brogdon going full “the limit does not exist” in his last game with 41 minutes (OT) for a 31/11/8 line. He drove it 31 times (!) in only 5.9 minutes of touch time. Carlisle’s comments suggest the limit is completely gone after not playing in the fourth in the previous two games, and this is a great matchup for him as he will likely see Cade on the other side.

*Tyrese Haliburton still got his touches at 5.8 minutes of touch time, but the potential assists did take a big hit as they fell to 10 after 19.9 in February. It’s still a pretty good matchup for him, but Brogdon’s upside is more attractive to me.

*I really like Isaiah Jackson today. He’s run into a slew of bad matchups, and Isaiah Stewart shouldn’t draw many fouls against him. Jalen Smith is certainly a threat behind him (like him, too), but this could be one of those Jackson smash games we saw last week.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers (front end)