Indiana @ LA... gimme some swagger

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Written by Don

Tuesday, 02 March 2010 17:10

Loved the steel in the spine of the last win for the Lakers, a bit of swagger coming out as well. Not before time too: this is the home stretch now.

Next up? The Indiana Pacers. Not what you'd consider a "dangerous team", however... in season's past (and once or twice this season) the Pacers have been able to take the odd scalp of teams considered way above them.

Can it happen this season, this game? Probably not. They're simply going to struggle with LA's line-up. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are going to give Indiana a massive problem. Last time they played they lined up Troy Murphy & Danny Granger on Bynum/Gasol... which resulted in a slaughter on the boards (LA accumulating 62 of 'em!).

Add to the height issues: Indiana have suspended back-up Solomon Jones for the game due to "conduct detrimental to the team". I'm looking for plenty of boards 'n' points from LA's triple-headed monster.

Ron Artest could possibly get another opportunity to show off his defensive prowess with Granger, after his brilliant work on Melo the day before. Artest's starting to do exactly what he was brought to LA to do - really, really take it to the big, strong scoring forwards like Melo and LeBron.

This game will really provide Kobe Bryant with an opportunity to get his mis-firing stroke back. Again, look for him to facilitate early - especially with so many mismatches on the front court - and shoot more later in the game.

Kobe on his shooting woes of late...

Hopefully Phil Jackson will ensure the team start hard at it and really set the tone early. Get into the mindset of crushing a lesser opponent.

If LA don't win this game by double digits, they've missed an opportunity.

*****

Behind Enemy Lines I also had a chance to talk to Pace Miller of Pacer's Pulse, and ask him a few questions pertaining to Indiana, and the game... read on!

Don (With Malice): The Pacers have always had the ability to beat good teams. It's happened season after season... yet Indiana can't seem to put it together for an entire season. What gives?
Pace Miller (Pacer's Pulse): The Pacers HAD the ability to beat good teams last season. Not so this season. They can't even beat the bad teams this season. Pacers fans just want to move on and hope for the best in the upcoming draft lottery.
WM: Well, you did beat the Raptors and Orlando only a little while ago...

WM: Coming to the Staples Center to face the Lakers... first thoughts?
PP: A 20 point loss for the Pacers.

WM: Is Danny Granger capable of leading the Pacers to the promised land?
PP: Not by himself. He'll be great as a Scottie Pippen-type sidekick, but the team's performance this season already demonstrates his inability to lead the Pacers to the promised land.

WM: What's cooler: the Fieldhouse or the Brickyard?
PP: Fieldhouse all the way.

WM: My game prediction is that Kobe does his jaw-jut look 17 times throughout the game, on the way to a 30pt performance with more than 5 dimes - what's your prediction for the game?
PP: Troy Murphy will get dunked on, Granger will shoot less than 40% from the field, TJ Ford will have less than 3 assists, and Roy Hibbert will be in foul trouble...wait a second, that happens every game!

Thanks for your time Pace!