Clippers @ Pacers Preview

It is becoming clear that the Indiana Pacers, who came close to derailing the dominant Miami Heat last season in the Eastern Conference finals, is just as good, if not better than they were last season.  This does not bode well for the LA Clippers, who will be without Chris Paul again this game.

Indiana has been phenomenal at home. They have lost only once at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season to grab an incredible 20-1 at home record this season. The Pacers are also on a big win streak, winning nine consecutive games.  The Pacers have the best record in the league and have been outscoring visiting teams by an average of 21.3 points during their win streak.

In their last game the Pacers dominated New York, 117-89, getting production from Lance Stephenson who had a career-high 28 points. Paul George contributed 25 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

The Pacers are also sporting the NBA’s best defense.  They were able to hold the Knicks to 40 percent shooting and forced them to go 4 of 19 from the three-point line.

All these at home Pacer stats are not making the Clippers look forward to heading to Indiana tonight.  However, LA has been enjoying a good stretch of their own since Paul’s injury.

The Clippers are not push overs by any means.  They are the leaders of the Pacific Division and are on a five game winning streak. They have managed to do this despite the absence of Paul, who is out for four weeks with a shoulder injury. Blake Griffin has helped picked up the slack.  He now leads his team in scoring with 22.3 points per game.

The key to the Clippers victory is with out a doubt containing George. George has averaged 23.3 points over the last three meetings against the Clippers.  They cannot allow that type of production form the Pacers forward if they want to win.

The Pacers are the -9 point favorites to win this game over at Bovada. The game starts at 7 p.m. ET.