The Indiana Pacers are looking to finish this four game road trip strong against the Houston Rockets. The Pacers are 2-1 on the trip so far, having beaten the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans. However, they lost their first game to the Miami Heat. Somehow the Pacers managed to beat the Pelicans despite committing a season high 25 turnovers. The Rockets have won two of their last three and are within one game of .500 at 18-19.
The Pacers haven't been playing well lately, but they have remained competitive in their games despite that. The biggest issue seems to be that no one player is stepping up and having a big game, unlike in the past when we have seen it from Paul George, Monta Ellis and others. However, they have shown great heart to continue to fight through their poor play and get results. The Pacers are currently 21-15 and 6th in the Eastern Conference. If the Pacers go 3-1 on this road trip most fans would be very pleased, but there is one huge obstacle in their way: James Harden and (maybe) Dwight Howard.
James Harden has hit his best stretch of the season and has 30 points in three of his last four games. He is also 2nd in the NBA in scoring, averaging 28.3 points per game. Dwight Howard may not even play tonight, which would be the second game in a row that the Rockets team doesn't get to use their star big man the entire game. Houston has struggled this season and are 18-19 but are still 7th in the Western Conference. Additionally, when a team scores like the Rockets can they are never out of a game, especially with James Harden leading the way. The Rockets are a high scoring, push the ball team that scores a lot of points quickly.
Projected Lineups
Indiana Pacers
PG - George Hill, SG - Monta Ellis, SF: Paul George, PF: Lavoy Allen, C - Ian Mahinmi
Houston Rockets
PG - Patrick Beverly, SG - James Harden, SF - Trevor Ariza, PF: Clint Capela C - Montrezl Harrell
Injury Report
Indiana Pacers
No Injuries
Houston Rockets
Dwight Howard, Questionable ( lower back tightness), Donatas Motiejunas, OUT ( back soreness), Ty Lawson, OUT (suspension), Sam Dekker, OUT ( low back pain)
If Dwight Howard plays, the Pacers may have a tough time stopping him in the post and on lobs. Yet, Ian Mahinmi has shown vast improvement this season. This should be a fast paced game with a lot of scoring and turnovers. The matchup to watch is Monta Ellis on James Harden, Paul George may guard Harden. But Harden is not going to guard George; the Pacers will likely look to exploit that matchup throughout the game.
TV: Fox Sports Indiana
Radio: 1070 The Fan