The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder are both on the wrong side of the NBA Playoffs cut line with three games to go in the regular season, and the teams' clash at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday could very well be a must-win game for both teams' postseason chances going forward.
Projected Starting Lineups
Oklahoma City Thunder (43-36)
G Russell Westbrook – 27.5 ppg, 8.6 apg, 7.2 rpg
G Dion Waiters – 12.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg
F Andre Roberson – 3.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F Enes Kanter – 18.3 ppg, 11.0 rpg
C Steven Adams – 7.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Indiana Pacers (36-43)
G George Hill –15.7 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4.1 rpg
G CJ Miles – 12.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F Solomon Hill – 9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F David West – 11.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg
C Roy Hibbert – 10.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg
What to watch for:
Can the short-handed Thunder get it done on the road?
It's going to have to be the Russell Westbrook Show on Sunday (with cameos from the team's bigs, Enes Kanter & Steven Adams) for this depleted Thunder roster to outdistance a motivated Pacers squad in front of their raucous home faithful. OKC has dropped six of their last eight and are 1-3 in their last four road games. Indiana's a sneakily well-balanced team, so this is going to be a HUGE test as the Thunder fight for their playoff lives.
Prediction: Pacers win 100-97
This promises to be one of the most spirited clashes of the season's final week, and it likely will come down to the wire. Give the edge to Indiana based on their replenished depth and home-court advantage.