After fighting off a valiant effort from a struggling Atlanta Hawks team to close the weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers are in place that LeBron James and head coach Frank Vogel know quite well as they face against an Indiana Pacers team that is once again exceeding expectations despite being without their star guard Victor Oladipo.
Vogel was the head coach of the Pacers for seven seasons and three times during his coaching career he faced off against LeBron’s Heat teams. James would face the Pacers a few more times in the East as a member of the Cavaliers and although a lot of the faces are different in Indiana from even back in 2018, they’re still a quality basketball team.
Head coach Nate McMillan is once again doing more with less but the Pacers players who have been available deserve credit. New acquisition Malcolm Brogdon is setting the table for his teammates by dishing nearly eight assists per game and scoring a team-high 19 points per game. Fellow newcomer TJ Warren is scoring as he usually does but he’s also been part of a strong defense, something that was a question mark about him due to his early career being played in Phoenix.
In addition to the new guys, holdover center Domantas Sabonis is averaging nearly 18 points and over 13 rebounds per game as he anchors their frontcourt.
The Pacers also have five players on their team that is currently shooting 38% or above from three, giving them enough offense to keep them in the mix in the Eastern Conference. Given that the Lakers’ next game is a showdown against the 24-4 Milwaukee Bucks, they need to make sure they don’t fall into a trap game like the Bucks did on Monday night against a shorthanded Dallas Mavericks squad.
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