NBA Grind Down: Sunday, January 4th - Page Two
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Indiana at L.A. Lakers
- Vegas Line – Indiana -2, 200.5 Over/Under
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Sloan-Stuckey-Hill-West-Hibbert
- L.A. Lakers Proj. Starters – Price-Bryant-Johnson-Davis-Hill
| Indiana | L.A. Lakers | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 200 |  | Vegas Total | 200 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -2.0 | Vegas Sprd | 2.0 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 101.25 | Team Proj. | 99.25 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 95.15 | Team Pace | 97.83 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Donald Sloan | Rodney Stuckey | Solomon Hill | David West | Roy Hibbert | Proj Starter | Ronnie Price | Kobe Bryant | Wesley Johnson | Ed Davis | Jordan Hill | |
| Opp. Season | 30 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 22 | Opp. Season | 18 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 27 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 29 | Opp. Last 7 | 1 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 27 | |
Indiana
The big question that will hopefully be answered before the game is if C.J. Watson will play. With George Hill already ruled out, this would open up one of the best value plays in the industry tonight. Keep your eye on the news as Indiana gets a great matchup against the season-long struggling Lakers, who are last in the league in points allowed per game. The Pacers are currently slight favorites with a total of 201.
Elite Plays
David West – All the Pacers get a bit of a bump here with the matchup against the Lakers and the pace the Pacers will play against them. West is Mr. Consistency since returning from injury and should have a nice game against the Lakers who are in the bottom third of the league against PFs and centers.
C.J. Miles -Miles has played 34 and 32 minutes in his last two games. The backcourt injuries seem to help keep Miles on the court and that has resulted in really good volume for the scorer.
Donald Sloan – If Watson is out, Sloan becomes a top value option. Keep an eye on the news as lineups are announced.
Secondary Plays
Rodney Stuckey – I keep thinking we will see the Stuckey that was putting up 30+ point games for that week span or so this year. He will get the minutes to do it if Watson continues to be out. Stuckey is a tournament play only as he has not shown the ability to put up a decent game in a while.
L.A. Lakers
What makes all the Pacers great plays tonight works in the opposite direction for the Lakers. The Pacers are allowing the lowest points against in the league at 96.1. This is going to be a tough matchup offensively and it’s tough to predict where the numbers will come from with Kobe back in the lineup.
Elite Plays
None
Secondary Plays
Kobe Bryant- He is probably still the top SG option of the night as he has become a facilitator since returning to the lineup, which allows him flirt with triple-doubles each night out.
Ed Davis – The only other guy that seems trustable is Davis. He is cheap, gets about 30 minutes and has a floor of about 25 points.