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(0 - 0) | Expert Pick |
(0 - 0) |
Hoosier Daddy?  Welcome to Indiana, the Hoosier State. Here in Indiana, there is an old tale about an old high school basketball team, the Old Hickory Hoosiers. This was a team full of scrappy little white boys who needed an inspirational coach to believe in themselves to take on the top team in the state of Indiana composed of some of the first blacks to play the game. They had never faced colored players before, but it was very clear that blacks were far more bigger and athletic than anything they had ever seen before. With an inspirational speech combined with unison locker room clapping, these young white boys built the courage to take on the best. The Hoosiers overcame the odds and won the state championship for a whopping score of 46-44. The spirit of the Hoosier still lives in Indiana. And this week, the underdog Indiana Pacers will need that Hoosier spirit to take on the dominating Utah Jazz. Matchups C - Marc Gasol vs Steven Adams  Marc Gasol: 20 PTS 11 REB 1.5 STL 1.3 BLK Steven Adams: 17 PTS 13 REB 2.3 STL 1.7 BLK Center is the easiest position to play. You just rebound, dunk, and defend. These are both 80+ centers. But that doesn't matter. You can pretty much accomplish the same things with a 72 rated center like Papagiannis. It's a pretty even matchup. Both are 7 ft., both rebound, both dunk, and both can defend. Gasol as some extra tools at his disposal such as the three point shot and the mid-ranger. But for this matchup, it's not a game changer. PF - LaMarcus Aldridge vs Blake Griffin  LaMarcus Aldridge: 17 PTS 10 REB 2 AST 1.7 STL 1.1 BLK Blake Griffin: 23 PTS 10 REB 3 AST 1.3 STL 0.6 BLK Both are superstar power forwards with pretty much the same defensive abilities. Both are capable of putting up 20+ points, but in different ways. LMA with skill. Blake with physicality. Regardless of how they do it, the end result is the same. This ends up being an even matchup as well. SF - Davis Bertans vs Jerami Grant  Davis Bertans: 4 PTS 2 REB 1 AST 0.6 STL 0.3 BLK 0.6 3PM Jerami Grant: 4 PTS 2 REB 1 AST 0.4 STL 0.2 BLK 0.4 3PM With Ariza out, Davis Bertans will get the start. He just got a major overhaul with the latest update. He’s a proficient shooter who haven't had the 2k tendencies to be effective yet. With this latest roster update, I believe see he can consistently hit 3+ three pointers a game for 14+ points. Jerami Grant, on the other hand, can barely even break 10 points. What's great about Grant though is his length and defense. He's the Andre Roberson of forwards. I still think Bertans wins this matchup even though he isn't as proficient of a defender. Guards – Paul & Rose vs IT & Simmons  Chris Paul: 16 PTS 3 REB 9 AST 1.5 STL 1.6 3PM 3.6 TO Derrick Rose: 13 PTS 3 REB 5 AST 0.8 STL 0.0 3PM 2.3 TO Isaiah Thomas: 0 PTS 0 REB 0 REB 0.0 STL 0.0 3PM 0.0 TO Jonathan Simmons: 14 PTS 3 REB 3 AST 1.5 STL 1.4 3PM 1.1 TO I did the two guard positions together because with Derrick Rose back, chances are CP3 will most likely be playing the SG position. Even though He'll be guarded by Jonathan Simmons, this matchup is really about CP3 vs IT. It's a team effort though since IT needs a partner that compensate for his lack of defense. CP3, on the other hand, is the perfect point guard and doesn’t need that complimentary piece. It will be IT's first week back from hip injury, but in 2k, it will look like he never lost a step. So let's look at these guard tandems. The Paul / Rose combo is a double playmaker combo with dominant ball handling and dominant physicality. Both guys play better with the ball in their hands which could be a problem. Paul can be a good off ball guard if he really has to be. We saw this in NBA LAC when Paul had to play with Eric Bledsoe. I think this will be case going forward for the Jazz this season. But will they have it figured out this week is the question. Paul is a great shooter and should be able to spread the defense. Rose, on the other hand, isn't as great of a shooter. He can still hit mid range shots though. Both good ISO guards and both good at defense and both good at attacking the rim. Both like to play through contact. The IT / Simmons combo is a shooting guard combo. Both guys are great shooters and can spread defenses a couple feet past the three point line. IT is kind of a ball hog and dribbles too much and he's turnover prone. But this can be fixed with proper coaching and a good supporting cast. Well not entirely fixed, but enough to win games. There will be times when you are thinking, “What the hell are you doing Isaiah?” But if you can limit those moments, than games can be won. I believe Indiana's coaching staff can do this especially with Blake Griffin begging to take the ball out of IT's hands. Simmons is a mid tier guard that is pretty good at everything, but not elite. He can be a 20+ scorer in limited situations. With Blake and IT, he won't have to be. He has good defense to compensate for IT's limited defense. Bench Matchup Utah: Cauley-Stein, Birch, Wiggins, Brooks, Mills Indiana: Aldrich, Leonard (Meyers), Galloway, Monk, Parker We should see dominant scoring from Wiggins off the Jazz bench. He's normally a starter, but with so much demand for touches in the starting lineup, Wiggins needed to go to the bench to get his. The guards are great. Both veteran shooters. Especially Mills. Mills can and will light it up from downtown. The front court is dominant with elite rebounding and defense. Mills and Brooks can just jack up shots while WCS and Birch fight for offensive boards. Indiana runs a 1 playmaker, 3 shooter, 1 big bench. The offense is run by Parker who has been pretty poor as a starter this year, but could be a very good bench guy. Meyers, Galloway, and Monk are good shooters who can spread the floor. Galloway and Monk have playmaking skills to keep the ball moving at all times. This is a pretty fast moving bench and there will be a lot of ball movement. |
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IT is also a top point guard mostly due to his elite shooting and ability to get to the line. His weaknesses are very glaring and normally determines the result of the match. He always puts up good stats. It's never a bad game for IT. He just needs to keep his mistakes down
Paul is one of the most complete point guards in the game. No weaknesses. Elite scorer. Elite ball handler. Elite playmaker. Elite defense. Good enough shooter.| X-Factor |
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 IT vs CP3 is the main X-Factor in this matchup. I think the frontcourt is an even wash. It will come down to the performances of these two players. I originally selected this for game of the week because I thought LMA would have missed time and made this a more even matchup. With the upgrade of Bertans and Wiggins to the bench, this becomes a much harder matchup for the Pacers. They look like a bad team because of loses incurred from missed time by Blake, but the team is much better than the record entails. The Jazz are very strong now. Still not at full strength yet. Sheed will have to call on the spirit of Jimmy Chitwood and the Hickory Oak Hoosiers to believe in their selves this time to finish this with the win. |