Connect with us

Indiana

Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers

Published

on

Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers


Sometimes you have to leave it all behind, fly overseas, and look for a fresh start. At least that’s what the San Antonio Spurs will attempt to do after going 3-7 in their last ten games and getting blown out in their last three. A trip to Victor Wembanyama’s homeland in Paris, France could be just what they need to right the ship. They’ll say bonjour to the Indiana Pacers, who are currently surging as they’ve won 8 of their last 9 games.

It’s a major landmark game for the Spurs who visit France for the first time since drafting Wembanyama. They’ve spent the week doing plenty of community events and even appearing at fashion shows. While this is officially a road game for the Spurs, expect a home environment for San Antonio with most of the local crowd showing up to support Wembanyama and company.

These Paris games will have a lot of flash and celebration around them, but they are extremely important for the Spurs. Two losses here will put them in a tough position in the Western Conference standings and could impact how the front office operates with the trade deadline looming. These aren’t quite “must-win” affairs yet, but San Antonio needs something to go its way if they want to continue pushing for a playoff berth this season.

San Antonio Spurs (19-22) vs. Indiana Pacers (24-19)

January 23, 2025 | 1 PM CT

Watch: NBA TV | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Jeremy Sochan – Questionable (back), Riley Minix – Out (G League), David Duke Jr. – Out (G League), Harrison Ingram – Out (G League)

Advertisement

Pacers Injuries: Rayj Dennis – Questionable (G League), Enrique Freeman – Questionable (G League), Isaiah Jackson – Out (achilles), James Wiseman – Out (achilles), Quenton Jackson – Out (G League)

What to watch for:

Defending the perimeter

The Spurs have gotten lit up from three recently. Without Jeremy Sochan, their perimeter defense has suffered. The third-year forward is questionable for this game, but reports indicate he will try to play. Indiana plays a pace and space style. They want to get the ball up the floor and shoot open threes. Indiana is 7th in the NBA in three-point (or as the French say, trois points) percentage. They have several bigs like Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner who can space the floor. San Antonio will have to contain drivers and get out to shooters if they want to hold back a potent Pacers offensive attack.

Getting Wembanyama involved

Look, this is the Paris games. Wemby is going to be motivated to have some big-time performances. The Spurs need to get him the ball in advantageous positions to allow that to happen. Indiana has stout big men who may try to slow down Wembanyama’s interior attack. Running Wemby off flex screens, and using him in the pick-and-roll or running action to get him the ball in the middle of the court would help Vic establish a greater offensive rhythm throughout the game.

Winning the bench minutes

Indiana is not a deep team. Their starting unit is talented, but the bench leaves a lot to be desired. TJ McConnell is solid and somewhat of a nuisance, Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith are tough scorers, but the rest of the group is easy to overlook. If Sochan is back, the Spurs should be able to move Stephon Castle back to the bench where he can run the second unit alongside Tre Jones and Keldon Johnson. A big night from the bench could be all the Spurs need to propel them to victory.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Indiana

Fever coach Stephanie White is guest speaker at 2024-25 Indiana High School Sports Awards

Published

on

Fever coach Stephanie White is guest speaker at 2024-25 Indiana High School Sports Awards


Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White is the guest speaker at the 2024-25 Indiana High School Sports Awards, Presented by the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever.

The live event, which celebrates athletes from across the state, is Sunday, April 27 at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University. Doors open at 4 p.m. with the show beginning at 5 p.m.

White went to West Lebanon High School and graduated in 1995. She then attended Purdue University for four years before being drafted by the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting in the second round of the 1999 draft.

White played her rookie year in Charlotte, before being acquired before the next season in the expansion draft by the Fever, where she played until 2004. Since then, she has made various stops on the coaching trail, including as head coach at Vanderbilt from 2016-21, as head coach of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun in 2023-24, and now the Fever.

Advertisement

Tickets to the 2024-25 Indiana High School Sports Awards, Presented by the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, are free this year thanks to the Pacers and Fever and can be obtained here.

For more information about the event, including lists of the player of the year nominees from the fall and winter seasons, visit the show’s website here.



Source link

Continue Reading

Indiana

NCAA Qualifier Macky Hodges Announces She Will Transfer To Indiana

Published

on

NCAA Qualifier Macky Hodges Announces She Will Transfer To Indiana


Just days after entering the transfer portal and less than a week after competing at the 2025 NCAA Championships, Macky Hodges has announced she will transfer to Indiana beginning in fall 2025. Hodges spent her first two seasons with USC and qualified individually for NCAAs in both seasons.

“I have always had a lot of respect for Coach Looze and the IU program. They have such a fun vibe surrounding them at all the meets i’ve seen them at, and that’s something you can’t help but want to be a part of. I just feel super lucky to be able to join the Hoosier family and see what I can really do with my swimming,” Hodges told SwimSwam.

Hodges will travel east after training with Sandpipers of Nevada during her club career.

Time Progression

High School Best Freshman Sophomore
400 IM 4:09.29 4:12.62 N/A
200 IM 1:58.53 1:58.07 1:56.69
200 Back 1:54.23 1:53.75 1:53.58
200 free 1:45.69 1:45.06 1:44.77
Hodges is a solid pick up for the Hoosiers as her 200 free would have been #2 on the roster this past season only behind Anna Peplowski. Peplowski won the NCAA title in a 1:40.50 and just finished her final year of NCAA eligibility. Peplowski said she will train at Indiana in preparation for the 2028 LA Olympics after making the US Olympic Team last summer. 

In addition to her 200 free, Hodges adds depth to the 200 IM and 200 back. Her 200 IM would have been #3 behind Miranda Grana and Reese Tiltmann as Grana swam a 1:55.88 at midseason while Tiltmann swam a 1:56.68 at NCAAs. Grana led the team with a 1:48.73 200 back as she won the NCAA ‘B’ final while Peplowski was #2 in the event with a 1:51.13.

Advertisement

Grana notably transferred to Indiana last year after spending her freshman season at Texas A&M. This season, Grana dropped from a 1:51.06 to a 1:48.73 in the 200 back. Hodges will be able to train alongside Grana for the next two years as they both enter their junior seasons.

The Hoosier women captured the 2024 Big Ten title and finished 2nd behind Ohio State this year. The team had their highest finish ever at the NCAA level last week as they finished 4th. The team’s 800 free relay notably finished 8th, right behind USC’s 7th place relay.





Source link

Continue Reading

Indiana

Indiana sues GM, OnStar over data-selling practices

Published

on

Indiana sues GM, OnStar over data-selling practices


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s attorney general has sued General Motors and OnStar, accusing them of collecting and selling personal data to third parties with consent, just a couple of months after the Federal Trade Commission settled its complaint with the automaker and its subsidiary.

The lawsuit, announced Thursday from the office of Todd Rokita, follows similar ones that the attorney generals of Arkansas and Texas have filed. The Arkansas lawsuit says GM and OnStar sold data that included the geolocation data, the GM app usage data, and the driving behavior data of more than 100,000 residents of the Southern state.

Amid the states’ actions, multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against GM and OnStar over the same issues, arguing data was sold to LexisNexis without consent, potentially leading to increased insurance premiums.

OnStar sells a subscription-based communications system in GM vehicles that offers, among its services, a link to emergency services and roadside assistance when needed, Wi-Fi connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics.

Advertisement

As lawsuit began piling up, GM ended its business with LexisNexis and Verisk. In an agreement reached with the Federal Trade Commission announced Jan. 16, GM also eliminated the Smart Driver program in all of its vehicles, and started a review of its privacy processes and policies. It also created a process to allow consumers to submit a privacy request to last for 20 years.

Indiana filed its 69-page lawsuit March 19 in Marion Superior Court 6, according to its time stamp. It alleged GM and OnStar violated the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act in selling telematics information — such as vehicle speed, hard braking events, and geolocation — from its Smart Driver system without consent. Then, third-party brokers used the data to create risk profiles and driving scores, which were sold to insurance companies. These companies, in turn, used the information to increase premiums or deny insurance coverage to consumers.

“Defendants profited from its data mining and data sharing activities to the detriment of the very customers to whom their telematics technology and associated programs were advertised to help,” the Indiana lawsuit says.

Indiana’s lawsuit also accused GM and OnStar of using deceptive “dark patterns” during the onboarding process to maximize consumer enrollment in their programs without fully disclosing privacy policies.

The state wants a jury trial and, if successful, seeks civil penalties of up to $5,500 for each violation of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Act.

Advertisement

The lawsuit cites anonymous complaints from social media, reports from The New York Times, and other news sources. Indiana’s lawsuit does not say, though, how many complaints the state has received. However, in a news release issued Thursday, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General asks Hoosiers who believe they have been affected to file complaints online or by calling 800-382-5516.

Rokita, a Republican, said in a statement in a news release issued Thursday, “Everyone deserves transparency and honesty from the companies they do business with, especially when it comes to having their data protected. General Motors and OnStar turned a supposed safety feature into a way to make money, profiting off Indiana drivers without their knowledge.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending