Indiana Pacers 2009-2010 Game-By-Game Predictions

Second-year players Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush will see plenty of court time for the 2009-2010 Indiana Pacers. The departure of Rasho Nesterovic (who signed with the Toronto Raptors as a free agent) leaves minutes available for Hibbert who (provided he can stay out of foul trouble) can easily see his court time increase from the 14.4 mpg he played last year to 25 mpg this season. With Marquis Daniels (who signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics) and Jarrett Jack (who signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors) now playing elsewhere, along with the fact that Mike Dunleavy isn't quite ready to return from knee surgery, there will be a bundle of minutes available for Brandon Rush at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. Rush should easily play 30 mpg or more this season. Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush will both see substantial minutes this upcoming season. In fact, the success of the 2009-2010 Indiana Pacers, regardless of how well All-Star Danny Granger performs, will heavily depend upon how effectively Hibbert and Rush use their extra court time.

Here are game-by-game predictions for the 2009-2010 Indiana Pacers:

Game 1, Wednesday, October 28th at Atlanta- Pacers open their season with a road loss to the Atlanta Hawks (Record 0-1).

Game 2, Friday, October 30th versus Heat- Danny Granger leads the Pacers to a home win over Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat (Record 1-1).

Game 3, Tuesday, November 3rd versus Nuggets- Pacers drop a home game to the Denver Nuggets (Record 1-2).

Game 4, Wednesday, November 4th at New York- Pacers beat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden (Record 2-2).

Game 5, Friday, November 6th versus Wizards- Pacers begin a three-game home stand with a loss to the Washington Wizards (Record 2-3).

Game 6, Wednesday, November 11th versus Warriors- Pacers get a home victory over the Golden State Warriors (Record 3-3).

Game 7, Saturday, November 14th versus Celtics- Pacers close out a 2-1 home stand with an impressive win over the Boston Celtics (Record 4-3).

Game 8, Tuesday, November 17th at New Jersey- Pacers drop a road game to the New Jersey Nets (Record 4-4).

Game 9, Wednesday, November 18th versus Knicks- Pacers drop both games of the back-to-back as they fall to the New York Knicks (Record 4-5).

Game 10, Friday, November 20th versus Cavaliers- Pacers fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers dropping their third consecutive game (Record 4-6).

Game 11, Sunday, November 22nd at Charlotte- Pacers drop a road game to the Charlotte Bobcats (Record 4-7).

Game 12, Tuesday, November 24th at Toronto- Pacers lose their fifth in a row as they fall to the Toronto Raptors (Record 4-8).

Game 13, Wednesday, November 25th versus Clippers- Pacers continue to struggle as they drop a home game to the Los Angeles Clippers (Record 4-9).

Game 14, Friday, November 27th versus Mavericks- Pacers beat the Dallas Mavericks to close a brief two-game home stand (Record 5-9).

Game 15, Monday, November 30th at Golden State- Pacers get their second straight win by defeating the Golden State Warriors (Record 6-9).

Game 16, Wednesday, December 2nd at Sacramento- Pacers get a road win over the Sacramento Kings (Record 7-9).

Game 17, Friday, December 4th at Utah- Pacers lose to the disciplined Utah Jazz (Record 7-10).

Game 18, Saturday, December 5th at Los Angeles Clippers- Pacers lose to the Clippers to close a respectable 2-2 road trip (Record 7-11).

Game 19, Wednesday, December 9th versus Trail Blazers- Pacers drop a home game to the Portland Trail Blazers at Conseco Fieldhouse (Record 7-12).

Game 20, Friday, December 11th versus Nets- Pacers get a home win over the New Jersey Nets (Record 8-12).

Game 21, Saturday, December 12th at Washington- Pacers drop the second half of a back-to-back as they fall to the Washington Wizards (Record 8-13).

Game 22, Monday, December 14th at Orlando- Pacers lose a road game to the Orlando Magic to drop their road record to 3-8 (Record 8-14).

Game 23, Wednesday, December 16th versus Bobcats- Pacers get a home win over the Charlotte Bobcats to bring their home record to 6-6 (Record 9-14).

Game 24, Friday, December 18th at Memphis- Pacers continue to struggle on the road as they fall to the Memphis Grizzlies (Record 9-15).

Game 25, Saturday, December 19th at San Antonio- Pacers lose to the San Antonio Spurs and drop both games of a back-to-back (Record 9-16).

Game 26, Monday, December 21st versus Bucks- Pacers get a home win over division foe Milwaukee Bucks (Record 10-16).

Game 27, Tuesday, December 22nd at Boston- Pacers lose a road game to the Celtics (Record 10-17).

Game 28, Saturday, December 26th versus Hawks- Pacers get their fourth straight win by beating the Atlanta Hawks Conseco Fieldhouse (Record 11-17).

Game 29, Sunday, December 27th at Miami- Pacers lose a close game to the Miami Heat (Record 11-18).

Game 30, Tuesday, December 29th at Chicago- Pacers fall to the Bulls and drop their ninth straight on the road (Record 11-19).

Game 31, Wednesday, December 30th versus Grizzlies- Pacers defeat the Memphis Grizzlies and win the second half of a back-to-back (Record 12-19).

Game 32, Saturday, January 2nd 2010 versus Timberwolves- Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to bring their home winning streak to six (Record 13-19).

Game 33, Sunday, January 3rd at New York- Pacers beat the Knicks to sweep a back-to-back (Record 14-19).

Game 34, Tuesday, January 5th versus Magic- Pacers suffer their 20th loss of the season as they lose a home game to the Orlando Magic (Record 14-20).

Game 35, Friday, January 8th at Minnesota- Pacers defeat the Timberwolves again and sweep the season series 2-0 (Record 15-20).

Game 36, Saturday, January 9th at Oklahoma City- Pacers lose to the Thunder at the Ford Center (Record 15-21).

Game 37, Monday, January 11th versus Raptors- Pacers defeat the Toronto Raptors and tie the season series at one game apiece (Record 16-21).

Game 38, Wednesday, January 13th versus Suns- Pacers defeat the Phoenix Suns and bring their record to 8-8 against the Western Conference (Record 17-21).

Game 39, Friday, January 15th at New Jersey- Pacers get a road win over the Nets (Record 18-21).

Game 40, Saturday, January 16th versus Hornets- Pacers lose a home game to the New Orleans Hornets (Record 18-22).

Game 41, Tuesday, January 19th at Miami- Pacers begin a three-game road trip with a win over the Miami Heat (Record 19-22).

Game 42, Wednesday, January 20th at Orlando- Pacers drop the second half of a back-to-back in a loss to the Orlando Magic (Record 19-23).

Game 43, Friday, January 22 at Detroit- Pacers lose a close game to the Pistons (Record 19-24).

Game 44, Saturday, January 23rd versus Sixers- Pacers get their 20th win of the season with a home victory over the Philadelphia 76ers (Record 20-24).

Game 45, Monday, January 25th at Philadelphia- Pacers drop their third road game in a row in a loss to the 76ers (Record 20-25).

Game 46, Wednesday, January 27th versus Lakers- Pacers fall to the Los Angeles Lakers (Record 20-26).

Game 47, Friday, January 29th versus Cavaliers- Pacers get home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 21-26).

Game 48, Sunday, January 31st at Toronto- Pacers close January with a road win over the Raptors (Record 22-26).

Game 49, Tuesday, February 2nd versus Raptors- Pacers drop a home game to the Toronto Raptors and split the season series 2-2 (Record 22-27).

Game 50, Friday, February 5th versus Pistons- Pacers lose their second consecutive home game as they fall to the Detroit Pistons (Record 22-28).

Game 51, Saturday, February 6th at Milwaukee- Pacers fall to the Bucks on the road (Record 22-29).

Game 52, Tuesday, February 9th versus Bulls- Pacers lose to the Chicago Bulls to close the first half of the season (Record 22-30).

Game 53, Wednesday, February 17th versus Spurs- Pacers open the second half of the season with a home loss to the San Antonio Spurs (Record 22-31).

Game 54, Friday, February 19th at New Orleans- Pacers beat the Hornets to open a four-game road trip (Record 23-31).

Game 55, Saturday, February 20th at Houston- Pacers lose the second half of a back-to-back as they fall to the Houston Rockets (Record 23-32).

Game 56, Monday, February 22nd at Dallas- Pacers continue their road struggles as they lose to the Mavericks (Record 23-33).

Game 57, Wednesday, February 24th at Chicago- Pacers lose to the Bulls and drop their third consecutive road game (Record 23-34).

Game 58, Thursday, February 25th versus Bucks- Pacers begin a two-game home stand with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks (Record 24-34).

Game 59, Saturday, February 27th versus Bulls- Pacers get a home win over the Chicago Bulls to avenge a loss they suffered earlier in the week (Record 25-34).

Game 60, Tuesday, March 2nd at Los Angeles Lakers- Pacers lose to the Lakers to start a difficult four-game road trip (Record 25-35).

Game 61, Wednesday, March 3rd at Portland- Pacers drop their 23rd road game of the season in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers (Record 25-36).

Game 62, Friday, March 5th at Denver- Pacers lose another game on the road and fall to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center (Record 25-37).

Game 63, Saturday, March 6th at Phoenix- Pacers fall to the Suns to end a dreadful 0-4 road trip (Record 25-38).

Game 64, Tuesday, March 9th versus Sixers- Pacers defeat the Philadelphia 76ers to get their third straight home win (Record 26-38).

Game 65, Friday, March 12th at Boston- Pacers lose another game on the road as they fall to the Celtics (Record 26-39).

Game 66, Sunday, March 14th at Milwaukee- Pacers get a road win over the Bucks and split the season series 2-2 (Record 27-39).

Game 67, Tuesday, March 16th versus Bobcats- Pacers get their second straight win as they defeat the Charlotte Bobcats (Record 28-39).

Game 68, Wednesday, March 17th at Cleveland- Pacers fall to the Cavaliers (Record 28-40).

Game 69, Friday, March 19th versus Pistons- Pacers drop a home game to the Detroit Pistons (Record 28-41).

Game 70, Sunday, March 21st versus Thunder- Pacers get a tough win over the Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 29-41).

Game 71, Tuesday, March 23rd at Detroit- Pacers defeat the Pistons and get their 30th victory of the season (Record 30-41).

Game 72, Wednesday, March 24th versus Wizards- Pacers lose to the Washington Wizards and drop the second half of a back-to-back (Record 30-42).

Game 73, Friday, March 26th versus Jazz- Pacers lose a home game to the tough-minded Utah Jazz (Record 30-43).

Game 74, Sunday, March 28th at Atlanta- Pacers fall to the Atlanta Hawks (Record 30-44).

Game 75, Tuesday, March 30th versus Kings- Pacers begin a four-game home stand by defeating the Sacramento Kings (Record 31-44).

Game 76, Friday, April 2nd versus Heat- Pacers fall to the Miami Heat (Record 31-45).

Game 77, Sunday, April 4th versus Rockets- Pacers drop a close game to the Houston Rockets (Record 31-46).

Game 78, Wednesday, April 7th versus Knicks- Pacers get a home win over the high-scoring New York Knicks (Record 32-46).

Game 79, Friday, April 9th at Cleveland- Pacers drop another game to the Cavaliers (Record 32-47).

Game 80, Saturday, April 10th versus Nets- Pacers beat the Nets in their penultimate home game of the season (Record 33-47).

Game 81, Monday, April 12th versus Magic- Pacers drop their final home game of the season to the Orlando Magic (Record 33-48).

Game 82, Wednesday, April 14th at Washington- Pacers close the season with a loss to the Wizards (Final Record 33-49).

Prediction: The 2009-2010 Indiana Pacers will give Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush ample opportunities to show how much they have improved since their rookie seasons. Even though the Pacers will struggle through their growing pains and win fewer than 40 games for the fourth consecutive season, Hibbert and Rush will gain invaluable experience that may pay dividends for the Pacers organization in the future.

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Information from ESPN.com and NBA.com was used for this article.