Before digging in here, there aren’t too many games that have a major pace advantage. Some of them will play slower, so some are better by comparison.
Indiana Pacers (front end) at Charlotte Hornets (front end)
Team Totals: Pacers 105.8, Hornets 107.8
Injury Report: P.J. Washington (O, elbow), Chris Duarte (Q, shoulder)
Pacers projected starters: Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, Kelan Martin, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner
Hornets projected starters: LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, Mason Plumlee
Carlisle quotes: Said the Pistons killed them with dribble penetration, said their defense wasn’t paying attention at times, said he didn’t want to talk about offensive rhythm because guys aren’t playing as hard as they should, said they put Martin in as a starter to guard Jerami Grant.
Borrego quotes: Said he really liked how LaMelo impacted the game on defense, said they went small to get to the rim more (LaMelo, Martin, Oubre, McDaniels, Miles) and everything cleaned up.
Stats and Notes:
*We know Rick Carlisle is really going to try to slow this game down as much as possible, so the Hornets playing so fast could be negated a little bit here. The Pacers also are the second-best team in the NBA at limiting 3-point volume at 32.8% of shots, so this isn’t the best spot for the Hornets’ offense. The Pacers could get it going with the Hornets struggling at the rim and they allow a lot of 3-pointers.
*The Pacers’ defense has been limiting a lot of guys lately, and most of the time they’re giving up good games because guys just get hot from deep. The Pacers really slowing it down doesn’t put LaMelo in a prime spot, but Rozier and/or Miles Bridges could have some open pockets on the defensive end, especially Miles.
*For me, Gordon Hayward is off the table with that hammy issue putting him on the injury report this week with some possible caps coming. In a B2B, it’s a no for me, dawg.
*It’s a potentially solid spot for the Pacers. Myles Turner should have ample opportunity for shot-blocking, and the Hornets will likely leave him open from deep. Sabonis did wreck Plumlee in their first matchup for a season-high 33, so he might be getting more offensive his way.
*Brogdon had a big game and drove it on this defense a whopping 28 times for a 28/4/11 line. Yeah, there’s some risk because of LeVert now getting close to full minutes, but Brogdon could still come through. The B2B factor could also keep LeVert’s minutes in check to up the usage for Brogdon and Sabonis.
Golden State Warriors (back end) at Detroit Pistons
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