NBA: LaMelo Ball And The Charlotte Hornets Welcome The Indiana Pacers On Wednesday
The Indiana Pacers will play their first game of the new season on Wednesday when they visit the Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina.
Ironically, the two teams played each other in last season's play-in tournament, and the game was the last one of the season for the Hornets (who lost) and the last win of the season for the Pacers (who lost the next game to the Washington Wizards).
What to expect?
The Pacers have a new head coach in Rick Carlisle, after over a decade with the Dallas Mavericks (including a 2011 NBA Championship) he returned to the place he used to coach.
He brings an experienced and well respected coach to the team after they fired first-year head coach Nate Bjorkgren last season.
The team is missing T.J. Warren and Caris LeVert, so injuries continue to be a concern even heading into the new season.
The big-three of Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and All-Star Domantas Sabonis will need to start the season off right.
Over on the Hornets side, they are coming off of a season that in many ways was like the Pacers.
Both teams had been the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference at one point during the season, but both failed to make the playoffs in large part due to injures.
LaMelo Ball was one of the players that got injured last season, but he did have an outstanding season that landed him the Rookie of The Year Award.
Ball, former All-Star Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier form a formidable big-three of offensive talent that could easily contend for a playoff spot at the back of the conference.
The game preview from the Pacers can be read here.
The Hornets are 1.5-point favorites, according to SISportsbook.com.
