Indiana Pacers game preview: Pacers host Zion Williamson and New Orleans Pelicans in interconference battle
The Indiana Pacers play their tenth game of the season tonight when the New Orleans Pelicans come to town for a battle of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Each team has won three of its last six games.
The 5-4 Pelicans roster features two young former All-Stars in Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, and they have talented veterans like CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas that make the team even harder to defend. Indiana, who is 4-5, had their best defensive outing of the season last Friday, but a healthy New Orleans is a tougher test.
Viewing and Betting Information
Tip off time: 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Where to watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Indiana/Bally Sports+, Bally Sports New Orleans
Spread and Over/Under: The Pacers are underdogs in this game, they are +5.5 in the SI Sportsbook. The over/under for the game is 235.5.
Pacers vs Pelicans Injury Report
For the Pacers, Daniel Theis (right knee) and Chris Duate (left ankle) are out while Aaron Nesmith (right foot), Andrew Nembhard (right knee), and Kendall Brown (two-way contract) are questionable.
For the Pelicans, Kira Lewis (right knee), E.J. Liddell (right knee), and Dereon Seabron (G League) are out.
Key Matchups
Whoever defends Brandon Ingram is going to have a difficult night ahead of them for Indiana, but with Duarte and Nesmith injured for the Pacers, it's not clear what that matchup will be.
Jalen Smith vs Zion Williamson: It's hard to imagine a tougher matchup for Jalen Smith than Williamson. Zion is back this season after missing the 2021-22 campaign with a foot injury, and he looks strong — the former number one overall pick is averaging nearly 23 points per game on 52.4% shooting.
Smith is mobile enough to stay in front of some power forwards, but Williamson's strength and speed combo is scarcely matched around the league. Smith will have to knock down his shots to keep up in the battle, and he will need to deny Zion the ball as often as he can on the defensive end.
Buddy Hield vs CJ McCollum: Hield is averaging 22.8 points per game over his last five games and has shot 51.9% from the field and 46.3% from deep in that span. He's been on fire.
McCollum is nearly that level of scorer every night, though he hasn't been as efficient as Hield recently. Neither shooting guard is a particularly strong defender, so whichever guard has a better scoring night will tip the balance of the game into their team's favor.
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- AllPacers chats one-on-one with former Indiana Pacers forward Justin Anderson. Exclusive interview here: CLICK HERE.
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- Indiana Pacers mock trade review: Checking out four deals from Bleacher Report. CLICK HERE.
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