Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Keys to beating the Pacers in Game 28
By Ethan Temkin
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to take on the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night. Here’s the three keys to victory for the team to extend their road winning streak to 15.
After the Lakers barely brushed by a 6-21 Atlanta Hawks team, they’re going to venture to the other side of the Eastern Conference in the 18-9 Indiana Pacers, who are legitimate playoff contenders despite being without their best player, Victor Oladipo.
In a lot of ways, the Pacers are kind of like the Spurs of the East, as they play a fairly bland style of basketball, yet it to translate to great defense, smart shot selection, and most importantly, wins.
Their big free agent acquisition Malcom Brogdon has blossomed into one of the best starting point guards in the league, averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.7 assists on 47/35/93 shooting splits. In addition, Domantas Sabonis is proving to be worth the massive extension he signed this past summer by averaging 17.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, and along with Brogdon, is a huge part of the Pacer’s offense.
On the injury front, Kyle Kuzma is still expected to be out with an ankle injury that has sidelined him for the past three games. In addition, Anthony Davis tweaked his ankle late in Sunday’s game against the Hawks, and even though he gutted it out to the end of the game, his status for this game is still up in the air, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
With that in mind, let’s get into the three keys to victory for the Los Angeles Lakers.