Blue Collar. Gold Swagger. - An Indiana Pacers Association

[dfsJunkie]

BLUE COLLAR. GOLD SWAGGER.
An Indiana Pacers Association - NBA 2K18

Pacers Regroup for an Opportunistic January and 2018

BLUE COLLAR. GOLD SWAGGER.

New uniforms, new court, but the Pacers still possess that same ol' gold swagger. However, sitting 8th in the Eastern Conference, they will be looking to ramp it up with the turn of the new year as they continue to push for a playoff berth.

Riding a 5-game losing streak, Indiana is off to an even-keeled start at 19-19 with just over half the schedule remaining to be played. Hot on their coattails, the 9th-seed 76ers are coming off a 5-10 December, though after winning their last three games are just a half-game behind at 18-19.

ALL-STAR WATCH

Could a lingering injury impact Victor Oladipo's chances at snagging an All-Star spot? ESPN's Real Plus-Minus views Oladipo as an All-Star as he ranks 10th in the NBA -- fifth in the East -- in RPM.

CURRENT TEAM LEADERS

Points: Victor Oladipo - 24.9
Rebounds: Domantas Sabonis - 8.0
Assists: Darren Collison - 5.6
Steals: Victor Oladipo - 1.8
Blocks: Myles Turner - 2.3

SETTINGS
Team: Indiana Pacers
Season Length: 82 Games
Playoffs Format: 7-7-7-7
Pre-Injuries: On
Mode: NBA Today League (1/5/18)
Games Played: 'Nationally Televised' Games
Roster: (1/5/18) 2K Official Roster
Sliders: Eaglesfan10
Draft Class: Real Classes

[dfsJunkie]

Pacers Remaining Nationally Televised Games

- Sat, Jan 6 vs Chicago 7:00 PM (NBATV)

- Fri, Jan 26 @ Cleveland 7:30 PM (ESPN)

- Fri, Feb 23 vs Atlanta 7:00 PM (ESPN)

- Tue, Mar 13 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM (NBATV)

- Sun, Apr 1 @ LAC 3:30 PM (ABC)

- Tue, Apr 10 vs Charlotte 7:00 PM (NBATV)

[dfsJunkie]

I'm just going to get right into it since I'm starting in the middle of the season. I'll post an article or two before the first game, but you guys are free to comment.

[dfsJunkie]

Victor Oladipo Ready to Return for Pacers

Tom Lewis | SBNation Writer

Victor Oladipo’s impressive start to the NBA season was enhanced by his absence in the Pacers’ last four games due to a sore right knee. Not only did the Pacers lose all four games but the game seemed to become hard for everyone without the threat Vic has posed to opponents all year.

At least that’s how it appears. It also appears fans have noticed the big impact VO has on the blue and gold. The early NBA All-Star voting returns were released on Thursday and Oladipo is currently third in voting among guards in the Eastern Conference, closer to second (DeMar DeRozan) than fourth (Ben Simmons).

Obviously, the Pacers’ recent slump has more to do with the collective regression of other key players in the lineup, but I’m sure all will be happy to see Oladipo return. Despite their best efforts, no one was able to step up and fill the void left by Oladipo, but after practicing with the team on Thursday, the Pacers’ new star proclaimed himself ready to return on Saturday when the Pacers host the Bulls.

However, Oladipo downplayed his return holding any magic to turn things around by himself.

“There are five dudes out there, man. I’m just one guy,” Oladipo said. “I’m just here trying to help. We’re going to be all right. It was a rough stretch everybody went through. Some teams doing well now went through it early. We’re going through it now. It’s just about resilience and trying to figure it out.”

The Pacers’ “rough stretch” (losing five in a row and 8 of their last 11 games) hit as their schedule difficulty was supposed to ease up. The recent losses squandered the impressive start that had them six games over .500 against the fourth most difficult schedule at the time. Things will turn more difficult again over the next few weeks with more challenging games on the road, but the team remains in the mix among a group seven or so teams battling for the a few playoff spots in the East.

If Oladipo’s returns with his All-Star level of play and flips the fortunes of the Pacers back in the right direction, not only will he earn more All-Star votes but eventually a few MVP votes, as well.

[dfsJunkie]

Matchup Preview
National Coverage on NBATV

Chicago Bulls
(14 - 25)

@

 

Indiana Pacers
(19 - 19)

GAME NOTES -- The lead story in tonight's matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls is the return of Victor Oladipo.

Oladipo has been playing at an all-star level this season, though has missed the past few games due to a lingering injury. In his absence, the Pacers have dropped all four games as part of their current five-game losing streak.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Bulls:
PG Kris Dunn
SG Zach LaVine
SF Denzel Valentine
PF Nikola Mirotic
C Robin Lopez

Pacers:
PG Darren Collison
SG Victor Oladipo
SF Bojan Bogdanovic
PF Thaddeus Young
C Myles Turner

KEY INJURIES

CHI G, Cameron Payne (Foot)
IND F, Glenn Robinson III (Ankle)

[dfsJunkie]

FINAL
January 6, 2018
Bankers Life Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN

Chicago Bulls
(15 - 25)

106

@

 

Indiana Pacers
(19 - 20)

83

LaVine Leads the Way as Bulls Rout Pacers, 106-83

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Behind Zach LaVine and some smothering defense, the Bulls were able to push Indiana's losing streak to six, spoiling the return of Victor Oladipo in the process.

Chicago held the lead for the entire game, never allowing the Pacers to get within more than six points.

It was a disappointing night for Indiana who had been counting on their all star to return with more of a virtuoso performance, only to be letdown with another loss, this time against a sub-par Bulls team

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Don't call it a comeback for Victor Oladipo, as he struggled to perform at his usual all-star level. Though he was able to put up a modest 16 points in his first game back, he only took 11 shots from the field and didn't seem to be as involved in the offense as he normally has been throughout the year.

NUMBERS NEVER LIE

16. The Pacers turned the ball over 16 times tonight. This wouldn't be a terrible number on most nights, however, Indiana only forced 5 turnovers on the defensive side of the ball – an alarming rate of triple the amount.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

"We just didn't play great basketball tonight. We thought tonight was a 'gimme' and overlooked a great, young squad," Pacers head coach, Nate McMillan said. "Also, Victor looked a little timid in his first game back and you could tell guys were waiting around for him to be as explosive as he normally is – but we have to be patient with his recovery."

BOX SCORE

CHI -- 31 - 24 - 28 - 23 -- 106
IND -- 22 - 22 - 24 - 15 -- 83

BULLS KEY PERFORMERS

Zach LaVine -- 27 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 9-20 FG, 7-7 FT
Robin Lopez -- 17 Pts, 9 Reb, 2 Stl, 7-10 FG,
Denzel Valentine -- 12 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 5-11 FG
Bobby Portis -- 12 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Stl, 6-9 FG
Nikola Mirotic -- 9 Pts, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 4-8 FG

PACERS KEY PERFORMERS

Victor Oladipo -- 16 Pts, 4 Reb, 6-11 FG, 4-4 FT
Myles Turner -- 16 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Blk, 8-15 FG
Domantas Sabonis -- 10 Pts, 7 Reb, 5-8 FG
Cory Joseph -- 10 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 4-10 FG
Thaddeus Young -- 9 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 4-11 FG

[dfsJunkie]

Oladipo: I'm Good to Go, Man

Dave McMenamin | ESPN Staff Writer

On the heels of their sixth straight loss, Victor Oladipo claims to be OK, despite showing a more passive side to his game than normal in his return, a loss against Chicago.

"I just needed to get back into rhythm, but I'm fine now," Oladipo says. "I mean I know we didn't get the win, but 16 points – I'm good to go, man."

However, it wasn't a lack of production that left Pacers fans pondering the defeat at the hands of a measly Bulls team, it was the lack of aggression.

"Everyone was kind of stagnant," said coach Nate McMillan after the game. "I think we'll be fine for the next one."

They better get it going before it gets too late as their losing ways will only push Indiana further away from that 8th seed playoff spot that fans are hoping for, especially after losing Paul George in the offseason.

[georgiafan]

good job so far with this