Life on the road in the NBA can be brutal for teams.
Despite the private charters and luxury hotels, players cross time zones and often arrive in opposing cities in the wee hours of the morning after playing in another city just hours before.
But to succeed at this level, a team have a certain mental toughness on the road that defuses the home court advantage and provides them with a more level playing field. So far this year, the Indiana Pacers have fallen woefully short.
A closer look at the team’s dismal 2-9 road record shows that the club has established leads in many of the contests to only allow them to evaporate with empty offensive possessions and defensive lapses. While Indiana has managed road wins against New Jersey and Houston, the nine games they have dropped have registered an average margin of defeat of just under twelve points a game. While that is hardly the stuff the road warriors are made of, the Pacers have had opportunities to win many of those games.
Tonight’s game at Detroit marks a return to the scene of the season opener, which saw the Pacers commit twenty two turnovers, in a game they lost by just six points. This matchup is the first between the two division rivals since the Pistons shipped point guard Chauncey Billups \to Denver in exchange for perennial All Star Allen Iverson. The Pistons are 7-9 with Iverson who has averaged just over seventeen point a game since the trade.
Notes: The Pacers have lost seven straight to the Pistons. Indiana travels to Milwaukee after the Detroit game to face the Bucks. Former IU coach Kelvin Sampson is now a member of Head Coach Scott Skiles’ staff. Former Pacer Austin Croshere is also a member of the Bucks.
Both the Detroit and Milwaukee games are televised on Fox Sports Indiana. The next home game for the Pacers is December 17th against the Golden State Warriors. Former Pacer Stephen Jackson leads the Warriors in scoring at just over twenty points a contest.
Danny Bridges can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com
