PREVIEW: The Indiana Pacers Battle The Dallas Mavericks

The Indiana Pacers take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight, 2/27/2019, at 8:30 pm EST. I fully expect the Pacers to win this game. After a disappointing showing in Detroit, I believe that the Pacers will use that game to motivate them to bounce back tonight. I know that the officiating was bad when we played the Pistons, but let’s be honest, you should never put yourself in a position when the officiating is what decides the game for you. That is the kind of game I expect tonight from the Pacers. They are on the road so I do not expect a fully dominant win, but it should be an 8+ point victory.

There are three main threats to the Pacers losing this game. The first is that Domantas Sabonis is going to miss this game with a sprained ankle, an injury that he missed 6 games with last year. He is having a career year and is a front runner for both the 6th Man of the Year Award and the Most Improved Player Award. He is a double-double machine and is averaging 14.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 61% from the field and is a valuable asset on defense, though not nearly as good as Myles Turner on that end of the court. He has a player efficiency rating of 22.9 which is 7.9 points higher than the league average. As much as I like Kyle O’Quinn and as much as TJ Leaf has improved, the second unit for the Pacers will likely struggle with the absence of Sabonis.

Photo Credit: Uproxx

Threat number two is Luka Doncic, the rookie phenom. This season he is averaging 20.9 points and 5.7 assists per game. In my opinion, he is the clear choice for rookie of the year. The Pacers have only faced Doncic once and were successful in containing him. In that one match-up Doncic was held to 8 points and 3 turnovers. This was also due to the fact that he was ejected during the third quarter. Doncic will probably have a more successful game this time around because of the caliber of player he is. Still, a solid rotation of Wesley Matthews, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Thad Young will hold Doncic to 15-18 points.

Photo Credit: Indiana Daily Student

The third threat is Tim Hardaway Jr. He seems to play better than average against the Pacers. He is averaging 22.67 points against the Blue and Gold, though this number is skewed due to a 37 point outburst against the Pacers when he was with the New York Knicks. The next two games against the Pacers he was held to 19 points and 12 points. Though he is averaging 2.5 points less per game with Dallas, 16.5 points, I believe, with absolutely no evidence other than a feeling, that Hardaway Jr. will have a 25+ point night.

Photo Credit: MSN.com

So after all of that, why do I think the Pacers will win? Answer: Thad Young. The captain, the glue guy, the true meaning of what it means to be a Pacer.

Photo Credit: 1070 The Fan

Young is going to have the team ready to go. That is it. Expect the Pacers to play a lot better for this one reason alone. Catch the game on Fox Sports Indiana or on the radio at 1070 the fan.