The Indiana Pacers have been one of the most injury-plagued teams in the league this season and tonight is no exception. They will be without point guard George Hill (groin), and his backup C.J. Watson (foot) is questionable along with shooting guard Rodney Stuckey (groin), center Roy Hibbert (ankle) and third string center Ian Mahinmi (foot).
Nevertheless the Pacers (14-23) are only one win behind the Miami Heat (15-21) at the eighth spot and two wins behind the seventh placed Brooklyn Nets (16-19) in the Eastern conference. The visitors from Boston (12-21) are still not out of the playoff race either, though, they seem to be more focused on rebuilding than winning.
Boston coach Brad Stevens said earlier today that he is leaning towards keeping rookie James Young and Jameer Nelson on the inactive list for this game.
It will make a big difference whether Roy Hibbert is playing or not since the Pacers probably has the best interior defense in the league with him on the floor. Opponents hit only 47.5 percent of their shots within five feet of the rim when he is protecting it, the lowest mark in the NBA. And they are going up against a team that earns a lot of their points in the paint.
For Boston's starting point guard in the last five games, Evan Turner, it is a return to the home court of the team that traded for him last winter, and then let him go in the summer after a close to abysmal stay. His ultra-short Indiana career more so than his previous three years in Philadelphia made the former number two pick a reclamation project for the Celtics, who got him rather cheap at $6.7 million for two years.
Turner has played well for the Celtics, albeit with the same inconsistency he showed in Philadelphia.
Last time the two teams met was a nail biter in November in Boston, that wasn't decided until the final buzzer. Boston won, 101-98. It was in that game Celtics rookie Marcus Smart suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for a month.
The Celtics had shown pretty bad form after the Rondo trade until Wednesday night's victory in Brooklyn. If they can repeat that performance, they have a good chance to get another road win, considering the Pacers' injury issues, but it might go down to the wire once again.
