The Indiana Pacers will look to take complete control of their opening round series against the Orlando Magic on Saturday, as the 2 teams get ready for Game 4 at the Amway Center.Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 EST and will be televised nationally on ESPN. Orlando came out and surprised Indiana 81-77 in Game 1, but haven't been have not won since. Indiana was able to salvage a 1-1 split at home with a 93-78 beating in Game 2, and took back home-court advantage with a lopsided 97-74 win at Orlando in Game 3. This is make or break for the Magic, as they don't want to go back to Indiana down 3-1.
Oddsmakers don't seem to think the Wizardry are literally capable of leaving Game 4 tied 2-2. Our NBA chances now show Indiana favored by 5-points with the total set at 181.5.
Indiana
You've got to wonder if the Pacers didn't come into Game 1 with the idea that they were going to walk all over the Magic. Either way, it appears to have lit a fire under Frank Vogel's team. The big question I have looking forward to Game 4, is whether or not the Pacers will continue to bring that same intensity. When you win back-to-back games over a team by 15+ points, it?s easy to take your foot off the gas.
For the Pacers to resume their dominance over Orlando, they must continue to take advantage of their enormous size advantage in the paint. Without Dwight Howard in the middle, Orlando has no-one inside who can defend the bigs of Indiana. Nevertheless Indiana is still looking for Roy Hibbert and David West to have a big game offensively at the same time. West had 18 points in Game 2, but followed that up with just four points in Game 3. Hibbert had just four points of his own in Game 2, but bounced back with 18 in Game 3.
If the Pacers play defense like they have in the last 2 games, it isn't going to matter which player shows up in Game 4. Whenever you hold a team under 80 points in consecutive games, you're getting it done on that side of the ball. The key in the 2 wins has been Indiana's ability to keep the Magic from catching fire from the 3-point line. It's widely known the Magic live and die by the three-point line, particularly now that Howard is out of the lineup.
Orlando
It's a shame the Magic do not have Howard for this series. You have got to give the players who are on the floor a lot of credit for continuing to play hard, but in all honesty the Magic are completely outclassed. If Orlando fielded this same roster for a whole season, they would not even come close to making the postseason. Although they were able to steal a game on the road, I've got a hard time seeing the Magic winning another game.
For Orlando to win Game 4, they need to figure out how to get Ryan Anderson going offensively. Anderson has been held under 10 points in 2 of the three games, and his series-high is a just 11-points in Game 2. For the Magic to have any chance at making this a series, Anderson needs to score at least 20 points on Saturday.
Anderson's struggles are an enormous reason why Orlando hasn't got going from long distance. I just have the feeling that if he can come out and make a few from downtown early, the other players on the team will feed off that energy. I don't think this team is about to lay down and let the Pacers continue to roll all over them, but I'm not sure if they have enough talent to stop that from going down.
Oddsmakers don't seem to think the Wizardry are literally capable of leaving Game 4 tied 2-2. Our NBA chances now show Indiana favored by 5-points with the total set at 181.5.
Indiana
You've got to wonder if the Pacers didn't come into Game 1 with the idea that they were going to walk all over the Magic. Either way, it appears to have lit a fire under Frank Vogel's team. The big question I have looking forward to Game 4, is whether or not the Pacers will continue to bring that same intensity. When you win back-to-back games over a team by 15+ points, it?s easy to take your foot off the gas.
For the Pacers to resume their dominance over Orlando, they must continue to take advantage of their enormous size advantage in the paint. Without Dwight Howard in the middle, Orlando has no-one inside who can defend the bigs of Indiana. Nevertheless Indiana is still looking for Roy Hibbert and David West to have a big game offensively at the same time. West had 18 points in Game 2, but followed that up with just four points in Game 3. Hibbert had just four points of his own in Game 2, but bounced back with 18 in Game 3.
If the Pacers play defense like they have in the last 2 games, it isn't going to matter which player shows up in Game 4. Whenever you hold a team under 80 points in consecutive games, you're getting it done on that side of the ball. The key in the 2 wins has been Indiana's ability to keep the Magic from catching fire from the 3-point line. It's widely known the Magic live and die by the three-point line, particularly now that Howard is out of the lineup.
Orlando
It's a shame the Magic do not have Howard for this series. You have got to give the players who are on the floor a lot of credit for continuing to play hard, but in all honesty the Magic are completely outclassed. If Orlando fielded this same roster for a whole season, they would not even come close to making the postseason. Although they were able to steal a game on the road, I've got a hard time seeing the Magic winning another game.
For Orlando to win Game 4, they need to figure out how to get Ryan Anderson going offensively. Anderson has been held under 10 points in 2 of the three games, and his series-high is a just 11-points in Game 2. For the Magic to have any chance at making this a series, Anderson needs to score at least 20 points on Saturday.
Anderson's struggles are an enormous reason why Orlando hasn't got going from long distance. I just have the feeling that if he can come out and make a few from downtown early, the other players on the team will feed off that energy. I don't think this team is about to lay down and let the Pacers continue to roll all over them, but I'm not sure if they have enough talent to stop that from going down.
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