Charlotte Bobcats at Indiana Pacers preview -- Game 8

Today's Tunes:

"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" - Arcade Fire

Game Overview: The Bobcats are coming directly off of an overtime defeat at home, and head out to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers. As a young squad, their legs probably won't feel as much effect from the short turnaround as an older team. Still, the bonus period and back-to-back will make for tired legs that may make the Bobcats sloppy. Considering the Bobcats cannot handle turning the ball over against top-notch teams.

The Pacers are a good team that will contend in the Eastern Conference. I'm not sure they're quite there yet, but they have a lot of good players and depth. Danny Granger is a streaky volume-scoring gunner that can get to the stripe. Darren Collison, former Hornets spring-up young phenom, is a quick point guard with good vision and shooting. David West is a new face, signed as a free agent in the offseason, putting some offensive punch on the block for Indiana. Their frontcourt is quite deep with Hibbert at center, backed up by Jeff Foster, who rebounds well, and Tyler Hansbrough gives relief to West.

Key Matchup: Derrick Brown on Danny Granger. Granger gets the ball so much and is want to turn the ball over on occasion. If Brown can force Granger into taking tough shots and giving up the ball (not an easy task, mind you), the Pacers must look elsewhere to find their offense. Brown's not a shutdown defender, but he's not awful either. If he can also find his shot on offense and fill empty space with timely cuts, he can be in a good position today.

Tyler Hansbrough Does Not Know What To Do With This Basketball