Pacers vs. Grizzlies Preview: Two teams hunting for a turnaround win

Jan 29, 2023 - 9:55 PM

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The Indiana Pacers (24-27) are on the road Sunday evening to finish their season series with the Memphis Grizzlies (31-18).

The Grizzlies are back home after a rough five-game road trip which saw the Grizz lose all five games while also relinquishing the top spot in the Western Conference. The losing streak came on the heels of an 11-game winning streak which included a 130-112 win over the Pacers in mid-January.

No surprise that the Pacers fell behind by double-digits in the first half before making a run in the second half to make things interesting. But the monster Ja highlight plays and local legend Desond Bane’s five three-balls were too much to overcome. Bane missed the team’s last game and remains questionable which adds to Steven Adams also missing games of late with a knee sprain.

The Grizz losing streak seems cute compared the the losing stretch the Pacers are playing through while waiting for the return of Tyrese Haliburton (hopefully soon!). The Pacers are 1-9 in their last 10 games, showing plenty of fight in most, but usually not until the second half after getting down early in the game.

That formula against the potent and PO’d Grizzlies could be disastrous. Beating Memphis will be a rough task for the Pacers eve if they get out to a strong start.

DraftKings Odds: Grizzlies -8.5, O/U 241.5 (latest DraftKings odds here)

When: 6:00 p.m. ET

Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

TV: Bally Sports Indiana/Bally Sports + app

Radio: 93.5 FM/107.5 FM

Projected Starting Lineups:

Pacers: T.J. McConnell, Chris Duarte, Buddy Hield, Aaron Nesmith, Myles Turner

Grizzlies: Ja Morant, Ziaire Williams, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr, Brandon Clarke

Injuries

IND: Tyrese Haliburton - out (left knee/elbow sprains), Daniel Theis - out (right knee surgery)

MEM: Desmond Bane - questionable (right knee soreness), Steven Adams - out (right knee PCL sprain), Danny Green - out (left knee surgery recovery), John Konchar - out (concussion protocol)

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