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The Pacers hop a time zone on Wednesday night when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans while trying to build on their win Tuesday night over Orlando. The first back-to-back of the season will test the Pacers as they work through a few physical dings from the opener, although fatigue shouldn't be an issue this early in the season.
The Pacers turned it on in the second half to put away the Magic and will likely need a better overall effort against the Pelicans to do the same. The Pacers will have to rely on their experience and ability to execute at both ends of the floor since the Pelicans also have talented depth to throw at the blue and gold.
With Eric Gordon back and Jrue Holiday coming over from the Sixers, New Orleans boast a potent back court. Throw in Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers and Anthony Morrow off the bench, and you can see how much young talent the Pelicans have to lean on. In the front court, second year forward Anthony Davis will be an intriguing matchup for David West. The young fella will have plenty of physical tools to throw at West, but the Pacers' vet seems to relish these types of matchups against young forwards with a chance to teach them some old-man-game tricks. Still, Roy Hibbert may need to pick up some offensive slack in the front court tonight.
Remember the absolute dog loss to Charlotte in the Pacers' second game last year? This is a much different team now, but will they show it on the road? Will they play like champs, contenders or pretenders? That's why we watch, so enjoy the game.
For more on the Pelicans, check out The Bird Writes. Also, leave your thoughts and observations on the game in the comments.