NBA Matchups: January 16

NOP @ IND | CLE @ PHI | CHI @ BKN | LAC @ TOR | MIN @ HOU | WAS @ SAC

New Orleans Pelicans at Indiana Pacers (front end)

Team Totals: Pelicans 117.3, Pacers 120.8

Injury Report: Herb Jones (O, ankle)

Pelicans projected starters: Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy III, Saddiq Bey, Zion Williamson, Derik Queen

Pacers projected starters: Andrew Nembhard, Johnny Furphy, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Jay Huff

Borrego quotes: Said he liked the effort and they were able to stay in the game, said Missi and Karlo turned the game for them, said Karlo had energy and physicality, said it was great to have Bey back for the B2B, said they ran their offense through Murphy late, said Bey is so consistent and the young guys should take after him, said Bey could’ve stayed out longer from his hip injury but he wanted to play, said he’s really proud of Fears and how he handles the ball for the team, said Missi earned the second-half start because of his rebounding and rim presence, said Queen is a “team-first” guy and he was celebrating Missi having a big game, said they were settled in on defense in the fourth.

Carlisle quotes: Said it wasn’t pretty in the first quarter and they dug themselves too deep of a hole, said the Raptors are as physical as any team in the league, said they played OK after the first quarter, said Furphy was making it tougher on BI and he was able to hit the boards again, said the guys are still competing to win, said Nembhard “is playing exceptionally well,” said Q-Jax and Bradley gave them a big lift.

Stats and Notes: 

*Despite James Borrego talking about limiting rim scoring so much over the last week or two, that hasn’t changed, as teams continue to get it done inside against them. Even with the size up front, they’ve been subpar at limiting teams on the boards, and they don’t have great on-ball defenders with Herb Jones out. They’re not going to have enough ammo to slow down the Pacers’ main guys, and they’re the worst transition defense in the league. The Pacers aren’t a big running team, but overall, their offense should have more success.