The Pacers have one more chance to try to slow down Trae Young this season.
The Pacers (25-50) host the Hawks (37-37) at the Fieldhouse on Monday night.
The patchwork Pacers continue the long slog to the end of the season, vastly undermanned with questionable players on the injury list that need to play just so the team can field a passable NBA eight-man rotation. To that point, the team kept Justin Anderson for a second 10-day contract. Anderson has played heavy minutes in a rotation spackle role that has included starting several games.
Regardless of health, the recent version of the Hawks have been a problem for the Pacers. While Atlanta has a cushion to clinch a play-in spot, they still have a chance to move up a spot or two with a strong finish to the regular season which will be ten times the winning incentive the Pacers have in this one. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Plus, Trae Young seems to enjoy lighting up the scoreboard against the Pacers. Young has scored over 40 points three times against the Pacers, including a tidy 47-point effort in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. In the prior three games this season, Young is averaging a shade over 38 points, so it always seems like a catch-me-if-you-can situation the Pacers struggle to solve.
Considering the Hawks’ focus on their post-season status and Young’s history against the Pacers, Draft Kings has the Pacers as an 8-point favorite in what is projected to a be another high-scoring game.
DraftKings Odds: Hawks -8, 0/U 236.5 (latest DraftKings odds here)
When: 7:00 PM EST
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
TV: Bally Sports Indiana
Radio: 93.5 FM/107.5 FM
Projected Starting Lineups:
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Justin Anderson, Oshae Brissett, Goga Bitadze
Hawks: Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter, Danilo Gallinari, Clint Capela
Injury update:
IND: Goga Bitadze – questionable (sore right foot), Duane Washington Jr. – questionable (bruised right hip), Malcolm Brogdon – out (rest), Chris Duarte – out (sore left toe), Isaiah Jackson – out (headache), T.J. McConnell – out (right wrist ligament surgery), Ricky Rubio – out (torn left ACL), Myles Turner – out (left foot stress reaction), T.J. Warren – out (left navicular fracture)
ATL: Bogdan Bogdanovic – questionable (sore right knee), Danilo Gallinari – questionable (right elbow contusion), John Collins – out (right ring finger sprain/right foot sprain), Skylar Mays – out (non-COVID illness)
Please leave your thoughts and observations on the game in the comments.
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