Pacers at Grizzlies
THE STORY: The Indiana Pacers are enduring a seven-game stretch against quality teams that should determine if their hot start is for real. So far, the Pacers are 2-2. After falling at Atlanta on Wednesday it’s back to the West, with Indiana visiting the Memphis Grizzlies. While the Pacers appear to have taken that next step into contention, the Grizzlies are stumbling along with losses in seven of their last 10 games. Memphis managed to snap a three-game slide on Wednesday but is averaging only 87.1 points in the last 10.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSIN (Indiana), SSO (Memphis)
ABOUT THE PACERS (17-8): Indiana has beaten the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz in the last four but has fallen to its Eastern Conference competitors, Orlando and the Hawks. Averaging 104.6 points in their last five wins, the Pacers averaged just 84 against Atlanta and the Magic. Danny Granger is shooting just 30.7 percent (20 for 65) in the past four games and Paul George shot 5 for 20 in the two setbacks. The most consistent player for Indiana has been Roy Hibbert, who was named to his first All-Star team as a reserve on Thursday.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (13-13): Memphis has its own first-time All-Star in Marc Gasol, who will oppose Hibbert as the back-up center for the Western Conference. Gasol has had to carry a heavier load in the absence of Zach Randolph and is averaging a double-double. Randolph on the bench has left the Grizzlies without one of their biggest threats, however, and his replacements have been slow to step up. Memphis has reached 100 points once in the last 10 games and needed overtime to hit the mark. The Grizzlies are 4-2 against Eastern Conference foes.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Indiana has yet to lose back-to-back games.
2. The Grizzlies have taken the last four and six of the last seven meetings.
3. George will make the trip to All-Star weekend in Orlando as part of the Rising Stars Challenge.