Indiana Pacers @ Miami Heat
Tuesday, January 19
7:30 PM EST
American Airlines Arena
Miami, Florida
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Well, kiddos, looks like this season of ongoing disappointment will officially be half-way over after tonight’s game — presuming, ya know, the Pacers don’t make the Playoffs. And while that seemed like a very, very, very, safe assumption two weeks ago, a three-game win streak did offer a little hope that Indy might be able to turn this thing around.
Of course, they trailed by 23 or more points in two of those games before mounting amazing comebacks and also beat the Nets, so it’s not like the team is on the cusp of turning into the 1983 Sixers here or anything. But they offense has looked like it may be able to turn a corner. For stretches, Danny looked like the Granger of last year and the rest of the guys have filled in well enough to help fuel some extended stretches of potent scoring. That alone is reason to celebrate when you have otherwise been watching a team that threatens to shoot below 40% from the field every other game.
Still, it’s the East, so anything is possible.
So after a bump in the road against the Hornets on Saturday, Indy will look to get back on track against Miami and get back to their not losing ways. And, fortunately, Miami has not been playing well of late. They’ve lost 7 of their last 11, and despite playing at one of the slowest paces in the whole NBA, have only held their opponents below 98 points once in their past 7 games.
The Heat can still play good defense when they want to, so this doesn’t necessarily mean we will see a great shooting night out of the Pacers in Miami. But they have certainly found a good night to try.
Pacers v. Heat: Tale of the Tape
| Pacers | @ | Heat |
|---|---|---|
| 14-26 (12th) | Overall Record (Conf Rank) | 20-19 (6th) |
| 4-14 (Road) | Home / Road Records | 11-10 (Home) |
| 5-5 | Record Last 10 Games | 4-6 |
| Lost 1 | Current Streak | Lost 1 |
| 2-3 | Last 5 Head-to-Head | 3-2 |
| -4.75 (27th) | Avg Scoring Margin | -0.46 (16th) |
| 99.3 (17th) | Points Per Game | 97.2 (24th) |
| 101.7 (27th) | Offensive Rating | 106.4 (17th) |
| 43.3% (28th) | FG% | 45.5% (18th) |
| 47.7% (25th) | eFG% | 48.9% (21st) |
| 104.1 (24th) | Opponent's PPG | 97.7 (12th) |
| 106.5 (14th) | Defensive Rating | 106.4 (16th) |
| 45.0% (10th) | Opponent's FG% | 45.1% (11th) |
| 48.5% (8th) | Opponent's eFG% | 49.4% (13th) |
| 97.7 (2nd) | Pace | 91.1 (25th) |
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- Game #1 Preview: Sekou Smith Talks Hawks
- Game #14 Preview: So, Now They Win Six Straight…Right???
Jared Wade founded 8 Points, 9 Seconds in 2009 and has written about the NBA at outlets including ESPN.com, Hoopspeak, Both Teams Played Hard, and Hardwood Paroxysm. Follow him on Twitter @Jared_Wade or @8pts9secs.
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