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Welcome back!
posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 6:08 PM

Whether you're singing "Make It Rain" or "Let It Snow," it makes no difference- there's something for you at the Rose Garden as the Portland Trail Blazers get set to take on the Indiana Pacers in what should be a battle of two very evenly matched teams.

The Pacers are one of the biggest surprises of the year, thus far, as they've overcome injuries to their star (Jermaine O'Neal is listed as day-to-day with a knee injury but he is warming up as I type this) and responded to low expectations by torching some of the toughest teams in the league.
Most recently, the Pacers took their act to Denver and edged a Kenyon Martin-less Nuggets team by 2 points, 112 - 110.

In that game, Mike Dunleavy scored 30 points and Jamaal Tinsley posted a game high 11 assists.

When you look at their roster, no name stands out quite like Jermaine O'Neal. Portland fans are familiar with the perennial All-Star as it was the Trail Blazers that drafted O'Neal out of high school, but O'Neal became a different player once the Pacers gave him an opportunity to spread his wings.

This year, however, O'Neal has taken a backseat to some of his complimentary players. Danny Granger is one of the most dangerous unknown talents in the NBA and he is the type of player that scares even the most well-balanced teams. He's quick, long, and he can knock down a jumper from anywhere on the floor.

Look for Granger to draw the attention of either LaMarcus Aldridge, who is quick enough to disrupt the 17th pick in the 2005 draft, or Travis Outlaw.

On the other hand, the Pacers are an outstanding 5 - 1 when Mike Dunleavy leads the team in scoring. Dunleavy, acquired as part trade that sent Stephen Jackson to Golden State, has excelled in Jim O'Brien's free-wheeling system to the tune of 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

It sounds weird to say, but letting Jermaine O'Neal take over the game might be in the best interest of the Trail Blazers. One game after priority number one was stopping Dwight Howard in the paint, Coach McMillan must shift the Trail Blazers focus and encourage his back-court to get involved on both ends of the floor.

Statistically, the Pacers are 7th in the NBA in scoring with 103.4 points per game, but they're also 27th in the NBA in points allowed (a porous 105.7 points given up per game). They're second in the NBA with 45.7 rebounds per game, but they also give up an astounding 45.5 rebounds to opposing teams (25th worst in the league).

Essentially, the Pacers try to give an inch and take a mile out of their opposition. If Portland can keep this from becoming the NBA's version of a "Pop-A-Shot," they'll send the Pacers packing with their 9th loss of the season and they'll extend my personal "Game-Time Blog" win streak to 6 games!

Stay tuned - tip-off is in 23 minutes!


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