Pacers vs. Warriors Preview and Game Thread

Dec 6, 2022 - 1:46 AM

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The Indiana Pacers (12-11) are in the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors (13-11) in their last Pacific time zone game of the year. Needless to say, the West Coast has not been the Best Coast for the Pacers on this trip, still holding onto the memory of Andrew Nembhard’s game winner against the Lakers for a positive moment.

Not only have the Pacers lost three consecutive since beating the Lakers, but they now head into their second consecutive game without the team’s best player with Tyrese Haliburton, who is not expected to play. The Warriors are not the best team to see on the schedule with the defensive struggles of late, but looking for a positive outlook, the defense has a chance to show some vast improvement if they can slow down the Dubs...while playing a back-to-back.

The Pacers have had stretches of solid play in all of their road games, but too many stretches with defensive breakdowns while also struggling to shoot the ball, or more precisely, make shots, has had the Blue and Gold playing from behind for nearly the whole trip. This is a team with a small margin for error to begin with, so any self-inflicted problems they create will always but them in a bind.

The Warriors have had their own struggles early in the season, but seemed to have settled into a strong level of play lately winning seven of their last 10 games to push their way over .500 and into the playoff mix in the West where they belong. Steph Curry has played at a strong level from the start of the season, now averaging almost 31 points per game with 51, 44 and 90 shooting percentages.

DraftKings Odds: Warriors -10.5, O/U 237 (latest DraftKings odds here)

When: 10:00 p.m. ET

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA

TV: Bally Sports Indiana/Bally Sports + app

Radio: 93.5 FM/107.5 FM

Projected Starting Lineups:

Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Buddy Hield, Jalen Smith, Myles Turner

Warriors: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney

IND: T.J. McConnell - questionable (non-COVID illness), Chris Duarte - out (ankle sprain), Tyrese Haliburton - out (sore left groin), Daniel Theis - out (knee surgery)

GSW: Jordan Poole - questionable (sore ankle), Andrew Wiggins - questionable (right adductor tightness), Andre Iguodala - out (hip injury management)

Please share your thoughts and observations on the game in the comments.