The Pels make their annual stop in Indy on Monday night.
The Pacers (4-5) continue their homestand on Monday night when they host Zion Williamson and the Pelicans.
Zion recently missed two games with a sore hip after one of his patented high-flying finishes ended with a rough fall to the floor. The big man played in the last three games, so should be good to go since the Pels are playing after a day off. Brandon Ingram, a different but also dynamic big man for the Pels, recently missed four games with a concussion, but should also be good to go. That front court with a productive Jonas Valanciunas doing dirty work around the glass makes the Pels a tough cover around the rim. Throw in the backcourt depth lead by C.J. McCollum and when healthy, the Pels are a problem trending upward.
As for the Pacers, they will be without Chris Duarte, but hope to have Aaron Nesmith back. Nesmith should return to the starting lineup with Duarte out, keeping Bennedict Mathurin in his combo reserve/finisher role off the bench. However, the current circumstances may make now the perfect time to let Mathurin hop in that starting lineup and not look back.
Also of note is the odd tip time of 7:45 p.m. ET which is due to Election Day for some reason. There are no games on Tuesday so the league is staggering the tip times for the 15 games on Monday, looking out for the League Pass fans.
DraftKings Odds: Pelicans -5.5, O/U 234.5 (latest DraftKings odds here)
When: 7:45 p.m. ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
TV: Bally Sports Indiana/Bally Sports + app
Radio: 93.5 FM/107.5 FM
Projected Starting Lineups:
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Aaron Nesmith, Jalen Smith, Myles Turner
Pelicans: Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams, Nikola Vucevic
Injury update:
IND: Andrew Nembhard – questionable (sore right knee), Aaron Nesmith – questionable (sore right foot), Chris Duarte – out (sprained right ankle), Daniel Theis – out (sore right knee)
NOP: Kira Lewis Jr. – out (right knee ACL injury recovery), E.J. Liddell – out (right knee ACL injury recovery)
Please share your thoughts and observations on the game in the comments.