Christmas Day Game Thread and Pacers Links

The 1-0 Pacers head to Chicago for game two of the season.

By Tom Lewis@IndyCornrows Dec 25, 2020, 10:00am EST

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The Pacers will spend their usual Christmas Day off, prepping to play the Bulls on Saturday in Chicago. That allows fans to continue basking in the glow of the team’s win over the Knicks on opening night.

The glow of the second half surge at both ends of the floor remains. Victor Oladipo has been put back together and showed he can score like his old self even if he doesn’t look exactly like his old self and gets those buckets closer to the ground than we remember pre-injury.

Domantas Sabonis is going to have ample opportunity in Nate Bjorkgren’s offensive game plan to get to the rim, clear space with a shoulder and flip a lefty shot in, unless he just dunks it. He will also lead the league in frustration fouls against.

Speaking of leading the league, Myles Turner may lead the league in blocks as he hangs around the rim as the last line of defense while others are pressuring the perimeter to varying degrees of success.

Oh, and the Pacers can win a game without TJ Warren, the Holidays and Doug McDermott getting buckets at a normal clip. These are just a few of the high-level take aways from opening night.

On to Chicago. But first, a Christmas Day slate for your lounging entertainment. Feel free to share you thoughts on the Pacers, the X-Mass games or the Pacers in the comments.

Merry Christmas!