NBA Matchups: February 12

Indiana Pacers at Charlotte Hornets

Team Totals: Pacers 124.5, Hornets 114.5

Injury Report: Tyrese Haliburton (O, hamstring), Jalen Smith (O, back), Cody Martin (P, knee)

Pacers projected starters: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Hornets projected starters: Tre Mann, Cody Martin, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards

Carlisle quotes: Said McConnell was “out of this world”, said they took advantage of their depth against the Knicks, said they wanted to wear Brunson down and make him take tough twos, said Haliburton is so creative and invents new ways to impact the game, said Jalen Smith will miss the next two games, said Isaiah Jackson has put in some extra work lately.

Clifford quotes: Said they got great bench play, said they had strong offense the whole game, said Micic knows where everyone is on the floor, said it makes sense to have Grant out there for defense, said it was nice to see so much ball movement without any practice, said Seth, Grant, and Bertans having so much experience will help the team, said Grant out there in a five-out lineup was effective and “it’s a different thing to deal with defensively.”

Stats and Notes: 

*The Hornets won? Steve Clifford got some decent rotation pieces, and he didn’t mess around as he used all five of them on Saturday. It looked like he was going to go eight deep, but he brought in Davis Bertans in the middle of the second to go nine. The Hornets turned in their best eFG% in a game all season, and maybe they can keep up with the Pacers. The Hornets don’t have too much rim pressure, but they should be able to generate it against one of the biggest rim funnels in the league. The Hornets also turned in their best defensive game in over a month, but they were playing the Grizzlies.

*Tyrese Haliburton is up to 30 minutes and the cap is almost off of him. Haliburton’s role hasn’t been quite as good these days with lighter touch time and lower potential assists (even per minute). The matchup is very good even with Cody Martin on him, but it may not be the greatest DFS spot because we know he won’t be playing 36 today. Hopefully his price is down.

*Myles Turner gets a smash spot against the weaker Hornets interior defense. While Isaiah Jackson is fine, Carlisle seems to have more faith in Jalen Smith, which means we could get more Turner minutes. Plus, I’d expect Charlotte to go pretty small to make Myles even more valuable.

*Pascal Siakam should be in a massive spot here. The Hornets don’t have any great big-wing defenders and he should get plenty of clean driving lanes. It’s a little concerning that his usage is down in the last two games, but the easier shots here should boost him back up. He has torched this team this season with 25/5/4, 27/8/8, and 25/8/9 lines in three games. Expect a big Siakam game.

*Brandon Miller’s minutes were cut in the first half on Saturday because of a couple of fouls, but Clifford was able to up him in the second half. Miller’s on-ball role did get cut down quite a bit, as his PNR handler possessions dipped to just two after averaging 10.5 per game in the previous four. There’s a chance the new Thunder guards affect him, but I wouldn’t draw any conclusions. The matchup should be great for him with his downhill game likely showing up more.

*Miles Bridges will get the toughest matchup on the team with Aaron Nesmith almost certainly guarding him here. Like Miller, Bridges did see his role shrink with his lowest usage rate since Jan. 19. Still, it’s the Pacers and I’d expect him to get bigger volume here.

*The OKC guards were the lead handlers on Saturday with Vasilije Micic at 5.0 minutes of touch time in 26 minutes and Tre Mann at 4.8 in 27. Micic was excellent and closed over Mann, and it’ll be a tougher decision for Clifford on who to close with from game to game. Both Mann and Micic were aggressive with 16 drives each, and Clifford needs that in his offense big time. Mann had a team-high 12 potential assists (nine assists), and Clifford mentioned they want him to get in a rhythm right away. I think Mann could close over Micic here, so I’d prefer Mann.

*Nick Richards gets a great matchup, but there are concerns that they just roll more with Grant Williams.

Great matchups: Myles Turner, Brandon Miller, Pascal Siakam

Good matchups: Tyrese Haliburton, Tre Mann

Bad matchups: Nobody

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Philadelphia 76ers at Cleveland Cavaliers