82 and 0 here we come ... well maybe not

Well, hey, at least it's 2-0 after a nice comeback win on the road on the home team's opening night, so we'll take it.
Overall Impressions
There were only two road teams to win out of the 14 games played in the NBA Wednesday night. The Thunder and by now you know of course, the Pacers. That's because for all of these games for the home team it's the home opener and even if the home team is not among the NBA's elite, it's the one night the arena is going to be sold out or close to it. And in the NBA having a big and vocal home crow behind you in the closing minutes can really help.
That's what makes the early season win a nice one, simply because the Pacers were facing that obstacle and were able to overcome it. It's not a huge win in terms of beating somebody like the Heat or Bulls, but it is a nice win in that it sends a message to the league and maybe to themselves that these are the types of games you have to win if you want to be the No. 1 seed in the East for the playoffs.
Likes

George Hill hit a big 3-pointer in
Wednesday's win at New Orleans

1) This isn't a big shock or anything like that, but in the first two games two different players hit big 3-pointers to give the Pacers a boost. In the opener Tuesday night, you had Paul George hit a 3-pointer to end the third quarter that essentially put the Pacers in a comfort zone for the rest of the game on the way to winning. Then it was George Hill's turn Wednesday night when he turned a one-point lead into a four-point lead with 31 seconds to go. It's a good reminder that it's OK for the point guard to shoot when he is open, too.
2) It was good to see George and David West step up and confidently hit free throws in the final minute. I remember there was a time when George was at the line in those situations and there was some doubt if he would hit both of those or not. But there no doubt both times that he went to the line late, making all four of his free throws then. Likewise for West who hit four big free throws down the stretch, including two that gave the Pacers a one-point lead with 1:06 to go.
3) It was nice to have Luis Scola throw the ball inbounds in that final minute too. While West is a good passer in the flow of an offense during the game, there were times last year where his in bounds passes late in games were adventurous to say the least. In one situation, Scola couldn't get the ball in bounds, so he used a final timeout. Not the first choice, but a better choice than throwing a bad pass and giving new life to the Pelicans in a three-point game.
DISLIKES
1) The Pacers can't have many 36-point halves and expect to win. Sure they rallied in the second half, and while they gladly hang their hat on defense, against better teams that's going to be tough to overcome.
2) I'm not ready to set off an alarm here, but after supplying 26 points in the opening night win over Orlando, the Pacers bench scored just 10 points Wednesday night and that was with Ian Mahinmi playing 24 minutes with Hibbert in foul trouble much of the night.
SECOND GUESSES
Not much to second guess this time. I was a little concerned when Hibbert came out of the game on one of the Pelicans' final possessions when the Pacers were on defense, but it turned out to be a good move because the Pelicans had a smaller 3-point shooting lineup in and it was a two-possession game at the time where getting one blocked shot or one rebound would not be the difference between winning and losing.
NEXT UP
The Pacers are off until they host Cleveland in a 7 p.m. game Saturday. The Cavaliers could be one of

the league's most improved teams this year with No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, former No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving and then if he ever plays, center Andrew Bynum. But the point is, they won't be a pushover when they visit Banker's Life Fieldhouse.