The Indiana Pacers are back in action tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse when they welcome the Houston Rockets.
Once again the Pacers face an opponent coming off a disappointing loss, desperate for a win. The Rockets lost their last game to the Washington Wizards and also lost their imposing center, Yao Ming to an ankle sprain.
Former Pacer and Purdue big man, Brad Miller is expected to fill the void in Yao's absence. Miller wasn't healthy in the pre-season and has been working himself into playing shape, so this will speed up that process. More importantly, the Rockets have been without speedy point guard, Aaron who is also sidelined with a sprained ankle.
All of this adds up to a disappointing 1-6 start for the Rockets, a team that began the season expecting to make some noise in the playoffs. Even if Brooks can't go tonight, the Rockets still present plenty of problems with Luis Scola and Kevin Martin capable of going off at any time. We've seen Martin turn the Fieldhouse into his own personal playground in the past, so the Pacers will have to be sharp once again to take advantage of the short-handed Rockets.
After the jump, a few links of interest including stories on the Pacers focusing on defense and Paul George moving down the playing rotation.
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Now that offense flowing, Pacers work on defense
Bruno finds the Pacers concerned with their defense after finally finding some offensive flow on Tuesday. Also, Governer Mitch Daniels fielded questions about the Pacerse big game while on a trip in China. -
As Pacers envisioned, wings Granger, Dunleavy, Rush star in same game
Mike Wells reports on the Pacers' wing rotation fleshing itself out quite nicely after Tuesday's big effort. With Brandon Rush's solid return, Paul George appears headed to the bench until he can work through his inconsistent rookie ways. - The latest Pacers Crate included Michael Grady joining Bruno and Denari to discuss the wild night they called on Tuesday.
- Rockets-Pacers Preview - Nov. 11, 2010 - NBA - CBSSports.com
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Yao will miss at least one week with ankle injury
Jonathan Feigen reports on the latest injury news for the Rockets. -
Yao Ming out at least one week with mild left ankle sprain - ESPN
Rockets center Yao Ming has a mild left ankle sprain and is expected to be out at least a week. -
Nuggets 118, Lakers 112
Let's see, the Pacers crushed the Nuggets, then the Nuggets beat the Lakers, so...if only it worked that way.