The Pacers face another challenging opponent on the road Monday night when they visit the Houston Rockets.
It’s bad enough the Rockets have James Harden and a cast of three-point shooters to attack the Pacers three-point defense which has allowed more than their share of open shots from behind the arc this season. After the trade break, they added Lou Williams to join Eric Gordon off the bench as a potent scoring duo. Williams torched the Pacers in two games against the Lakers earlier in the season, so he likely went to the arena today with a pep in his step.
The Pacers don’t expect to have Al Jefferson available. According to Nate Taylor, Jefferson is still recovering from an emergency root canal last week. Based on the last two games, Rakeem Christmas should expect to remain in the reserve rotation with Big Al sidelined.
The game will be televised nationally on TNT as part of their Players Only night.
For more on the Rockets, check out The Dream Shake. Also, add your thoughts and observations about the game in the comments.
Rockets vs. Pacers- 9:30 p.m. ET at Toyota Center
TV: TNT
Odds: Bovada has the Rockets at -10 favorites.
at -4.5 favorites
Radio: 93.5 FM/AM 1070 The Fan
Projected Starting Lineups
Pacers: Jeff Teague (PG), Paul George (SG), C.J. Miles (SF), Thaddeus Young(PF), Myles Turner (C)
Rockets: James Harden (PG), Patrick Beverley (SG) Trevor Ariza (SF), Ryan Anderson (PF), Clint Capela (C)