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Game Preview: Pacers at 76ers

Pacers.com Game Preview presented by DraftKings

Matchup

The Pacers (25-55) will wrap up the 2021-22 campaign over the weekend with a pair of road games, beginning on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

Having lost eight straight games, the Blue & Gold will use the last weekend of the season to continue developing their young players and trying to build momentum heading into the offseason. That's been the real focus over the last two months as injuries have ravaged the roster, but a positive to that has been that several young players have had increased opportunities.

Two of those players were rewarded on Thursday, as the team converted rookies Terry Taylor and Duane Washington Jr. to full NBA contracts. Taylor, a 6-5 forward out of Austin Peay, has proven to be a monster on the glass when given the opportunity. He's appeared in 31 games with seven starts and averaged 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds, with over half his boards coming on the offensive glass. Washington, a 6-3 guard out of Ohio State, has given the team a real spark at times offensively, averaging 9.6 points on 36.6 percent 3-point shooting over 46 games (seven starts).

The promotions of Taylor and Washington also created a pair of two-way openings for the remainder of the season, which the team used to reward a pair of players from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Nate Hinton returns to Indiana, where he previously played this season on a COVID-19 hardship contract. The team also signed Gabe York, who will be making his NBA debut if he sees action over the weekend.

York is a 28-year-old guard who was college teammates with T.J. McConnell at Arizona. He went undrafted in 2016 and has played in Italy, Germany, Greece, France, and Israel as well as the G League. York had an excellent season this year for the Mad Ants, averaging 21.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 steals. Among players who played at least 20 games in the G League, York ranked first in steals and 11th in scoring.

With two games remaining, the Sixers are nearly locked into their playoff seed and first-round matchup. Unless Philadelphia wins out and either Boston or Milwaukee loses out, the Sixers will be the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, where they would almost assuredly face Toronto in round one. With that outcome appearing very likely, expect the Sixers to handle this weekend's games as a tune-up for the postseason.

Projected Starters

Tyrese Haliburton

Tyrese Haliburton

Buddy Hield

Buddy Hield

Oshae Brissett

Oshae Brissett

Terry Taylor

Terry Taylor

Isaiah Jackson

Isaiah Jackson

Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey

James Harden

James Harden

Matisse Thybulle

Matisse Thybulle

Tobias Harris

Tobias Harris

Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid

Pacers: PG - Tyrese Haliburton, SG - Buddy Hield, SF - Oshae Brissett, PF - Terry Taylor, C - Isaiah Jackson
76ers: PG - Tyrese Maxey, SG - James Harden, SF - Matisse Thybulle, PF - Tobias Harris, C - Joel Embiid

Injury Report

Pacers: Goga Bitadze - questionable (sore right foot), Malcolm Brogdon - questionable (sore lower back), Jalen Smith - questionable (sore left groin), Chris Duarte - questionable (sore left toe), Ricky Rubio - out (torn left ACL), Myles Turner - out (left foot stress reaction), T.J. Warren – out (left navicular fracture)

76ers: Charles Bassey - out (right shoulder pain/G League assignment), Georges Niang - out (left patella tendinopathy), Jaden Springer - out (G League assignment)

Last Meeting

April 5, 2022: The Pacers nearly erased a 27-point deficit, coming within four points of taking the lead in the fourth quarter, but came up just short in their final home game of the regular season.

Joel Embiid's 45 points lifted Philadelphia to a 131-122 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tyrese Maxey added 30 points and went 8-of-11 from 3-point range for the 76ers, with seven of his threes coming in the visitors' 82-point first half.

Buddy Hield led Indiana with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the loss. Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points, eight boards, and five assists.

Noteworthy

  • Whichever team wins Saturday will take the season series. The Pacers beat Philadelphia on Nov. 13 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before the Sixers won on Tuesday. The two teams have alternated winning the season series for the past four years, with the 76ers winning the season series in 2020-21.
  • York is the 30th player to be on the Pacers roster at some point during the 2021-22 season. Should he make his NBA debut this weekend, he will be the 28th to play for Indiana in a game (T.J. Warren and Ricky Rubio did not play for the Blue & Gold this season due to injuries).
  • T.J. McConnell returns to Philadelphia on Saturday. He played four seasons with the 76ers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2015.

Tickets

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Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »

TV: Bally Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (studio host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)