Sixers vs Pacers: First Win of the Year?

Slowing down Paul George will be a key for Brett Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers | Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers will once again look for their first win of the season tonight when they take on the Indiana Pacers at the Wells Fargo Center, their last home game before embarking on a six game road trip.

The biggest challenge for the Sixers tonight will be slowing down Paul George, who has been playing exceptional basketball of late after a slow start to the season. To counter George’s incredible play of late, and the match-up problem he represents for traditional big men, Brett Brown announced before the start of the game that he would bring Nerlens Noel off the bench, inserting Robert Covington into the starting lineup in his place. Athletic forward Jerami Grant is likely to get the first crack at defending George.

However, minutes later Indiana head coach Frank Vogel announced that he would start Lavoy Allen at the power forward spot to counter Philadelphia’s big lineup, thus sliding George to the small forward positions. It’s unlikely we’ll know for sure exactly how the match-up is going to shake out until game time, but it seems as if Jerami Grant will start off defending George, regardless of which position he starts off at.

The Details:

What: Sixers (0-11) vs Pacers (6-5)

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa

When: 7 PM

Watch: Comcast SportsNet

Projected Starting Lineups: 

Sixers: T.J. McConnell, Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, Jahlil Okafor

Pacers: C.J. Miles, Monta Ellis, Chase Budinger, Paul George, Ian Mahinmi

(Note: Official starting lineups are released approximately an hour before the game).

Injury Report:

Joel Embiid (out, right foot), Kendall Marshall (out, right ACL), Tony Wroten (out, right ACL), Carl Landry (out, wrist), Richaun Holmes (out, hamstring).

About The Opponent:

The Pacers are a shell of the team that made consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Gone is the front court of Roy Hibbert, who was traded to the Lakers, and David West, who signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

Instead, the Pacers start a front court that features Ian Mahinmi at center and Paul George at power forward. Mahinmi had started in just 21 of his preview 367 games in his career and George switched to the power forward spot this offseason.

Still, any team that has Paul George, George Hill, and Monta Ellis will be dangerous, even if the decimation of the Pacers front court might remove them from legitimate title contention.

The changes in the front court have, unsurprisingly, had an impact on the Pacers. The Pacers rank 23rd in the league in defensive rebounding rate and give up the fifth highest percentage of opponent shots within 3 feet of the basket. Where the Pacers do excel defensively is on the perimeter, allowing opponents to shoot only 32.5% from three point range on the season.

On the offensive side of the court the Pacers are once again a perimeter-oriented team. They’ve shot 36.7% from three point range on the season, led by Paul George. After brief early season struggles George has been on a tear of late, with averages of 28.9 points, 9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game over his last 7 games while shooting 51.1% from three point range.

The Pacers second leading scorer, point guard George Hill, will miss his second consecutive game due to an upper respiratory infection. Monta Ellis will once again be asked to pick up much of the scoring load for the Pacers, as he did on Monday when he dropped 20 points in a loss to Chicago.

What To Look For:

This should be a chance for Okafor to have a big game, as none of Mahinmi, Lavoy Allen, or Jordan Hill should be able to match up with him. Getting the ball into the post early and often (emphasis on early) should be key for the 76ers offensive game plan.

Defensively, all eyes will be on slowing down Paul George. Brown announced before the game that he was going to bring Noel off the bench so he could slide Jerami Grant to the power forward spot. However, mere moments after that Pacers head coach Frank Vogel announced that he would start Lavoy Allen at power forward to slide George to the small forward position. Regardless, it seems as if Jerami Grant will get the first crack at slowing George down.

If the Pacers do play George a lot of minutes at the power forward spot, a side effect could be that the Sixers will need Okafor to protect the paint and clean up the defensive glass more than normal. Okafor’s rotations are going to have to be quick and decisive if the Sixers are to take home the win tonight.

Regardless of how the game starts, it would surprise me if Brown went with his two big man lineup all that much while George was at the power forward spot, instead going with a small ball lineup and asking guys like JaKarr Sampson, Jerami Grant, and even Robert Covington to try to slide to the power forward position to defend George. Because of that, this could be another game where traditional backup big men, like Christian Wood, could see limited minutes. Wood did not play in Monday’s game against Dallas.

Another key will be to not shoot themselves in the foot. The first quarter in Monday’s game against the Mavs was as bad of offensive execution as you’ll see, and limiting turnovers is going to be a key for Brett Brown‘s team the entire season.

Other things to look out for: whether Robert Covington can look a little bit more comfortable in his second game back from injury and whether the Sixers perimeter defenders can hold their own.

Derek Bodner covers the 76ers for Philadelphia magazine’s new Sixers Post. Follow @DerekBodnerNBA on Twitter.