I promised poetry, so here it goes:

Shall I compare the to a summer's day?
Thou art more turnover prone and more injured
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of Turkey Day
And Haliburton's touch hath left us ...

What the hell rhymes with "injured?" "Unnurtured?" Sure, let's go with that. Shakespeare is rolling over either way.

What's there to say about the loss to the Raptors other than "alcoholism is never the answer, no matter how badly you'd like to forget something."

Seriously, look at these numbers:

The Raptors turned the ball over on about one out of every five possessions and we still got trounced. We missed open look after open look, while Jakob Poeltl and RJ Barrett did what ever they liked, whenever they liked.

Fundamentally, we couldn't protect the rim to save our lives. The team made the move to add Moses Brown before the game, but the on-court proceedings only underscored how badly the Pacers are missing size.

Speaking of Brown, his signing has been officially announced and he's available to play tonight (thank god). Did I really just thank god for Moses Brown's availability? Boy the Eastern Conference Finals sure are becoming a dot on the horizon all of a sudden.

Where was I? Oh yes, Brown. Listen, I don't know what we can realistically expect from a guy fresh off the street, but at least he's 7'2 and can run the floor. At this point, any shot blocking threat can add value to the team. One thing I don't expect, is for him to make any shots more than three inches away from the rim. Seriously, even in his hype video he's closing his eyes while he shoots. He doesn't want to see that thing brick either.

Ok, I've been plenty snarky. Let's give someone some flowers. Pascal Siakam continues to be a Rolls Royce.

The Rockets

Indy has another uphill battle tonight in Houston. The young Rockets have been coalescing after years of adding pieces and they currently sit in 4th place in the tough Western Conference.

Looking at their numbers, it's clear they win by 1) playing tough defense, 2) taking care of the ball, and 3) crashing the offensive glass.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster for the Blue and Gold but, hey, this is the NBA after all!

Injuries

Oooh, I vowed to end my snark before talking about injuries. This is going to be tough but I'll do my best Walter Cronkite impression and give you just the facts.

The Pacers injury list has expanded. And that's the way it is.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 8:00 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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