Pacers at Pistons
The Indiana Pacers appear to have emerged from a recent down stretch and look to increase their Eastern Conference lead when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Saturday. Indiana defeated the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday for their second straight win following a season-worst four-game skid and stretched its lead to three games over the Miami Heat. Detroit is struggling with eight losses in 10 games as the club’s playoff hopes continue to diminish.
The Pistons were eight games under .500 when they fired Maurice Cheeks as coach on Feb. 9 and have gone 4-11 under interim coach John Loyer. Detroit is four games behind the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks in the battle for the final playoff spot but has shown little interest in making a postseason push. The Pacers are playing on the road for the fifth time in their last six games and they lost the first three of those games before winning at home against Boston on Tuesday and then traveling to beat the woeful 76ers. The Pacers are 18-13 on the road.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE PACERS (48-17): Forward David West has put together back-to-back strong outings to help Indiana shake out of the doldrums. West is averaging 21 points on 19-of-26 shooting in the two wins, making 11-of-13 shots against Boston on Tuesday and coming back with an 8-of-13 effort against the 76ers. The veteran is averaging 16 points in 12 games since the All-Star break after posting a 13.7 average prior to the break. He is averaging 13 points and 6.5 boards in two games against Detroit this season.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (25-40): Power forward Greg Monroe has performed better since Loyer replaced Cheeks and is averaging 16.3 points and 10.8 rebounds during those 15 games. Loyer tweaked the way Monroe was used on offense and the effects have been evident. “Greg, if you put him in certain spots, is a terrific low-post scorer,” Loyer told reporters. “What we’ve tried to do with Greg is to get him out away from the basket – the elbow, 16-foot area. One, he can make that shot and, two, he’s a terrific driver from that spot.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Detroit posted a 101-96 victory on Dec. 16 to end a streak of six straight losses to the Pacers.
2. Pistons PG Brandon Jennings scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting in Wednesday’s loss to Toronto after averaging just nine points over the previous 10 games.
3. Indiana C Andrew Bynum is expected to play in his second game with the club after sitting out the first game of the back-to-back on Friday.