Who: New Orleans Pelicans at Indiana Pacers
When: Saturday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m ET
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
How to watch: Fox Sports New Orleans
The Pelicans close their brief Midwest road trip and their final road trip of the first half of the season with a trip to Indianapolis on Saturday. After establishing themselves as one of the surprising sides of the Eastern Conference last season, the Pacers have stumbled in recent weeks. Indiana has dropped five of its last six games.
Not coincidentally, those stumbles have come with the reintroduction of Victor Oladipo after over a year-long absence from the lineup with an injury. In his four games since returning, Oladipo has averaged 9.5 points per game but has shot 24.5% from the field and 18.5% from the three-point line.
While the Pacers have struggled on paper recently, the majority of the losses have come against playoff-bound foes. The two most recent losses were to Toronto while Dallas and Portland have wins over Indiana late. The worst loss in the run came to the Knicks in Oladipo’s second game back.
Indiana’s offense has succeeded from range as they rank third in the league in three-point shooting. Overall, the Pacers rank seventh in the league in effective field goal percentage. Indiana is one of the worst teams around the rim, an area New Orleans ranks ninth in the league in defending.
In their previous meeting this season, New Orleans won 120-98.
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