VS 
At the illustrious...
Starting Lineups
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Gilbert Arenas is back in full force with 27.6 PPG and 5.6 APG. TJ Ford began to look like his old self by hitting some solid jumpers in the 4th against the Knicks. However, he needs to start making consistent decisions throughout the whole game because good distribution and good penetration have been sorely missing in the Pacers' losses. TJ needs to clamp down on Gilbert and stop the hemorrhaging early, since Gilbert is basically guaranteed to destroy our defense, unless Earl Watson plays a lot of minutes, which he will.
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Rush and Foye have differing skillsets but both share youth. Foye doesn't need to score as much with Arenas and Butler on the team, but he definitely is able to. Rush has yet to shoot over 40% in a game since the season opener and is struggling to find his shot. He needs to be more confident and shoot in rhythm instead of hesitating while going up. On the sad plus side, he is leading the starters in assists at 2.3 a game.
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Dahntay Jones has scoring greatly for the team, which is not what he's here for, but is a welcome surprise and contributed to our one victory on Knicks. Caron Butler is already a great scorer, but is scoring one and a half less per game that Dahntay. This game Dahntay needs to keep Butler's scoring in check while continuing to take advantages of teams underestimating his offensive ability.
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Danny Granger might be better than Oberto. He also has a heel bruise that is causing all of his attempts to fall consistently short, resulting in .403 from the field.
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Roy Hibbert is a great young center, earning two straight double-doubles, basically wiping away any doubt that he can stay on the court for long. He has faced talented centers thus far, and Brendan Haywood is just another. Roy needs to keep staying out of foul trouble, and defend the paint. Both centers are averaging similar numbers, but this game will be another test for Hibbert to hang with the other big boys in the East.
The Key Reserves
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With Murphy and Foster out, the Pacers have been blindsided by the injury bug yet again. This game, however, Tyler Hansbrough might make his long-awaited NBA debut, albeit on limited minutes. Many people are eager to see what he can do for the team. Earl Watson has been key coming off the bench and spelling a struggling TJ Ford.
The Coaches
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With a focus on defense, Jim O'Brien has set the bar high for the Pacers this season. Flip Saunders is a proven winner, and the Wizards are off to a decent start. O'Brien needs to fix the offensive scheme from drive-kick-out-drive-kick-out to something more like score-score-score.
Injury Report
Pacers
Mike Dunleavy: Out (Knee)
Travis Diener: Game-time decision (Toe)
Tyler Hansbrough: Day-to-day (Shin)
Jeff Foster: Out (Ankle)
Troy Murphy: Out (Back)
Wizards
Javaris Crittenton - Out (Foot)
Antawn Jamison - Out (Shoulder)
Mike Miller - Out (Shoulder)
Final Points
-Clamp down early and keep the defense up for 48 minutes
-Play like a team on offense
-Close out the game if it's close. We're at home.
Tradition
BEAT THE WHIZARDS!
