Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Tip Off: 4:00 PM (PST)
Projected Starters
Indiana Golden State
PG – Darren Collison Stephen Curry (questionable)
SG – Paul George Monta Ellis
SF – Danny Granger Dorell Wright
PF – David West David Lee
C – Roy Hibbert Andris Biedrins
Scope the opposition: Get your Pacers fix at 8 points 9 seconds.
Preview: With the All-Star break now a thing of the past, the Golden State Warriors (13-17) will commence the second half of the season with an eastern road trip that will see them make stops in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington. Mind you, their first order of business will come tonight when they take on the Indiana Pacers (21-12) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Last time these two teams met on January 20th, the Pacers were victorious at Oracle Arena because they manufactured easier shot attempts than their opponents. Indeed, on that night, Indiana scored 42 points in the paint, generated 17 fast break points and went to the free throw line 21 times.
The Warriors hurt themselves in the contest by failing to account for Indy’s three best scorers. Indeed, the trio of David West, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert scored a combined 54 points on 22-for-37 field goal shooting (59.5 percent). West and Hibbert’s performances are somewhat forgivable given that the Dubs do not have any big men with enough size and defensive prowess to truly limit them.
However, Danny Granger’s output in January against the Warriors had to be disappointing for the coaching staff. On the season, the Pacers’ starting small forward is averaging 18 points per game on 38.2 percent field goal shooting; and yet he managed to put up 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field despite being matched up against the likes of Dorell Wright and Brandon Rush.
Therefore, if Golden State wishes to have a different outcome this time around, it will be of utmost importance to force Granger into tough shots and keep him away from the basket. On the season, the former New Mexico player has gotten his fair share of open looks but has failed to hit the mark for the most part. Hence, it’s important to make sure that he has to settle for long jumpers over the outstretched arms of Wright and Rush.
Indiana’s defense did a good job of stifling Golden State’s offense in their previous matchup, as evidenced by the 91 points surrendered on 46.3 percent field goal shooting.
The shooting numbers were decent, but Indiana’s defense did a terrific job of clogging the paint and forcing the Warriors of taking outside jumpers. The end result was a mere 28 points in the paint for the Dubs and eight free throw attempts.
Also, with the Warriors struggling to find driving lanes, they had trouble protecting the ball and coughed it up 18 times to their opponents.
The Dubs will have to do a better job with their ball movement to get the Pacers defense out of position to find driving lanes in order to be victorious. In addition, the Pacers’ willingness to clog the paint will result in the Warriors getting a multitude of open looks from 3-point range that they will need to convert in order to loosen up the defense but also remain in striking distance.
In their last contest against Indy, the GSW managed to convert 10-of-23 shots from long range.
Lastly, given Indiana’s issues with scoring this season (42.9 percent field goal shooting so far in this campaign, good for 23rd in the NBA), if the Dubs can get some great scoring nights from at least two of their three best players (Curry, Ellis and Lee), it should not only open up the court for their teammates, but it will put pressure on the Pacers to matchup with them.
Golden State game notes: In the month of February, Monta Ellis is averaging 25.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4 assists per game on 47.4 percent field goal shooting.
Indiana game notes: In the month of February, Danny Granger is averaging 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 37.8 percent field goal shooting.
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