No Steph, no Draymond: Marquee Pacers home game loses some intrigue for many fans
The Pacers' annual home game against the Warriors is the hottest ticket. However, even though Steph Curry and Draymond Green played last night, they will not be in uniform Friday.
Each fall when the NBA releases the schedule, one of the first dates fans look for is when the Golden State Warriors are in town. Because they’re in the other conference, the Warriors visit just once per season. That made this game even more special. And pricier to attend.
The challenge is that the NBA schedule release is in early August, so who knows what things will look like for the Pacers, their opponent, player health, and external forces when the game is finally played.
Now five months later, that hot and in-demand ticket is free-falling.
The Pacers host the Warriors on Friday night for their third home date in four games. However, the Warriors — a team having its own struggles after going 7-14 since Thanksgiving — will be without several key players.
No Steph Curry (bilateral knee injury management0
No Draymond Green (left L5-s1 disc injury)
No Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle sprain)
No Gary Payton II (left calf strain)
No Brandin Odziemski (right abdominal injury management)
No Andrew Wiggins (personal reasons)
And both Trayce Jackson-Davis and Moses Moody are on the injury report, but expected to play.
The frustrating thing for basketball fans in this city is no Curry, an all-time great and sure-thing Hall of Famer. Pacers fans will want to win, but you want to see them do it against the best.
Curry — the best shooter in NBA history — is a player so many kids, especially, look up to and idolize. And keep in mind, because they’re based in San Francisco, kids in Eastern Time Zones, like Indianapolis (Eastern), are rarely up so late to see him play live on TV.
So Jan. 10 was the date and the get-in price was nearly $100. That number continues to fall because of Curry being out.
The Warriors, by the way, played last night so they’re on a second night of a back-to-back. They won in Detroit 107-104 — with Curry finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in 36 minutes; Green played 32 minutes.
However, both players won’t suit up Friday night in Indy.
“They are both banged up,” head coach Steve Kerr said pregame. “Draymond’s back has been tight and bothersome. Steph still has some fluid in his knee. … Unfortunately, they’re just at the age and at the stage of their careers with so much wear and tear that no matter how you slice it, they’re going to miss some games.”
This is their second game on a four-game road trip and by not playing, they will have three games between games. They're headed across the border, to Toronto, after this one.
Some reaction from fans on Twitter:
So who's actually playing?
Should hand out some fines, that’s garbage.
So glad I didn't buy my 11 yr old son tix to the game to see his favorite player, Steph Curry
The NBA should make it harder for stars to sit on the road. Steph plays 41 home games, why not try to miss one of those? There will be hundreds of disappointed kids tonight.
Now I'm terrified. This is exactly the sort of gimme game the Pacers have a tendency to lose. This'll be more of a test that they've truly righted the ship than the upcoming Cavs games.
Fine them. Ridiculous they can’t play B2Bs
This is precisely why we quit taking the kids to nba games. We splurged a couple years ago for a LeBron game and the same thing happened.
This is part of the reason for nba ratings being down. People watch for the big names.
This is unlucky for Pacers fans and basketball fans in Indy. Even more so for season-ticket holders in a year where they won’t get to see Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs live either because both meetings are in two weeks over in Paris as part of the NBA Global Games.
As for the Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton is on the injury report for the second straight game with a right ankle sprain, and Myles Turner is also questionable due to an illness that caused him to sit out last game. Both are expected to play.
The Pacers (20-18) have won nine of their last 12 games, including four in a row to begin 2015.
Fans can still see Trayce Jackson-Davis play a bigger role in his return back home and against to the team where his father, Dale Davis, made a name for himself. And it marks the return of Buddy Hield — one of Haliburton’s close friends.
Additionally, a second winter snowfall will make it more difficult for fans to get to and from the game.
Don’t forget… This is also the first of five games that will air on WTHR, in addition to Fan Duel Sports Network Indiana like usual.
As first reported here on Fieldhouse Files, the team expanded their longtime partnership to make five games available free to fans on an over-the-air TV channel in WTHR, the local NBC affiliate.
This significantly increases their audience reach and will provide valuable data during a time of rampant cord cutting.
I called Dish and they reported they would not show the Pacer game on Channel 13! I tried resetting the guide and it still didn't list the game. I attended the game but wanted to watch afterward on recording. I just wonder if the powers that be even noticed. I did hear the game was on if you knew beforehand the guide was wrong, but you couldn't record unless you recorded every half hour show during that time.
I took a quick look at Curry’s game log for the season. He’s sat out 8 games, 5 of which were home games. We expect our heroes to be superhuman but they’re not.