The Pacers showed grit last night to escape from Salt Lake City with a win despite struggling to make shots all game. It was the type of game that good teams win and mediocre teams lose.

But don't get to feeling too confident, as the Blazers are lying in wait and ready for an ambush.

That's right, the Blazers are red hot at the moment. Over the past two weeks they've possessed the league's 10th most efficient offense and 4th most efficient defense.

They are an extremely young and extremely athletic team that jump their opponents. The Pacers have struggled with that archetype in the past so they'll need to play with focus and edge from the get go if they don't want things to go south quickly.

With that being said, the Pacers are red hot and playing pesky defense themselves. In fact, Andrew Nembhard has just been awarded Eastern Conference Defensive player of the month for his harassment of opposing lead guards.

Injuries

The injury woes are starting to return after a period of good health. Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith appear to both be active but were questionable mere hours before tip-off, so they will be playing at less than 100%.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 10:00 PM ET.

TV: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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