Pregame notes
The Washington Wizards play against the Indiana Pacers in what could be a possible regular season series sweep. Russell Westbrook has dominated against the Pacers and hopefully will do so on Saturday night.
Wizards are half a game behind which means if they win they’ll move up to the ninth spot in the standings. If the season were to end and the Wizards won they’d host a play-in tournament game instead of being the visitor. They’re even a game and a half behind the Charlotte Hornets for the eighth spot which would be even better based on how the play-in tournament works.
Wizards vs. Pacers: Game thread, lineups, TV info and more
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Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
The Pacers have another crack at the Washington Wizards in another important matchup between two teams with hopes to hang on to at least a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
A similar matchup in D.C. last Monday was met by a futile effort from the Pacers when they let Russell Westbrook and the Wiz run roughshod on them and sew up the tie breaker. The Pacers still hold a one game lead in the loss column so expanding that to two would be big, not to mention keep them in touch with the 8th-seeded Charlotte Hornets.
Hawks vs. Pacers: Game thread, lineups, TV info and more
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The Pacers welcome Nate McMillan and his Atlanta Hawks to the Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
Both teams played on Wednesday with drastically different results. The Hawks destroyed a strong Suns team (albeit one playing on an OT back-to-back), 135-103 as they gear up for the playoffs while working Trae Young back in the mix.
The Pacers? Well, not so good. Bad loss to the Kings. Bad look on the sidelines with now suspended coach Grag Foster getting heated with now fined Goga Bitadze. According to reports, the group was hashing things out until 1 a.m., but at least they have the 8 p.m. tip again to get an extra hour of rest.
Beal, Washington set for matchup against Indiana
Indianapolis; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards take on the Indiana Pacers. Beal ranks second in the league scoring 31.1 points per game.
The Pacers are 17-20 against conference opponents. Indiana averages 42.5 rebounds per game and is 11-4 when outrebounding opponents.
The Wizards have gone 13-24 against Eastern Conference opponents. Washington is fifth in the league scoring 52.4 points per game in the paint led by Beal averaging 12.6.
The teams play for the third time this season. The Wizards won the last meeting 154-141 on May 3. Rui Hachimura scored 27 points to help lead Washington to the win.
With the regular season nearing its end, the Wizards take on the Pacers on Saturday at 7:00 P.M. in another game with substantial postseason implications. Washington, with wins in 12 of its last 15 games, is coming off a 131-129 overtime win over Toronto on Thursday while Indiana looks to build on a shootout win over the Hawks.
GAME INFO
PROBABLE STARTERS
Wizards: G – Russell Westbrook, G – Raul Neto, G – Bradley Beal, F – Rui Hachimura, C – Alex Len
Pacers: G – Aaron Holiday, G – Caris LeVert, F – Doug McDermott, F – Oshae Brissett, C – Domantas Sabonis
INJURY REPORT
Wizards: Deni Avdija (right ankle fracture – out), Thomas Bryant (left ACL injury – out)