Super Bowl May Give Pacers A Boost Against Orlando Magic

Super Bowl week is going to be insane in Indy and one of the big events leading up to the big game will the Indiana Pacers game at the Fieldhouse against the Orlando Magic on February 4th, which is Super Bowl Eve.

Hotels have been booked solid for months so when the post-lockout schedule was released there were no rooms left for the visiting Magic. So now Orlando has to alter their normal schedule to fly to Indy the same day as the game and then return home after the final buzzer.

The Magic didn't have the same good fortune as Cleveland, so rather than leaving for Indianapolis immediately after their matchup with the Cavs, the Magic will spend the night in Orlando and arrive on the day of the game at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The unusual scheduling quirk will actually allow the Magic to hold a walkthrough in Orlando on the morning of Feb. 4 before hopping on a 1:30 flight to Indianapolis for their 7 p.m. game that night.

So the Pacers catch a break by playing an Orlando team that will have to adjust to the goofy travel schedule that will include a flight mere hours before the opening tip. Just add this to the early schedule advantages the Pacers have had, including only one back-to-back so far (don't worry, they're coming starting on Saturday), no Brook Lopez in New Jersey, no Dwyane Wade in Miami and maybe no Ray Allen tomorrow in Boston.

I won't feel too sorry for Dwight Howard and the Magic, though. By game time, Orlando should have no problem snapping into game mode considering the Fieldhouse will be electric as the celebrity-riddled place to be and be seen before the Super Bowl parties start poppin' later that night.