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Allen: We have a lot of things to improve

Last year's duels between these two teams ended with extremely low scores, so one should not expect a carefree game today

The Indiana Pacers are a prime example of how much of a difference a year can be in sports. After being Miami Heat's main competitors over the past few seasons, they lost their best two players this summer, which almost turned them into a lottery team. Larry Bird's "tight-fisted" attitude resulted in the departure of Lance Stephenson, and Paul George broke his leg during the preparations with the national team, which will cost him the entire season. To make things even worse, David West and George Hill have also sustained minor injuries which puts them out of commission for the first few matches.

However, even without four last year's starters, the Pacers still won the first game of the season, though that did happen against the 76ers, whose intentions can be called a bit dubious when it comes to winning games. Be that as it may, Frank Vogel's team won 103-91, with a great performance by the often criticized Roy Hibbert, who ended the match at 22 points (6/8), eight rebounds and seven blocks.


- With many new players on the court we went to Roy more often that we usually would. He played a physical game, and was really efficient when he had possession of the ball- said coach Vogel, praising his center.


The Pacers did not look particularly well on the court even against a weak team such as the 76ers, but considering the issues they're dealing with, they can definitely be happy with the score. As the match drew on, the away team avoided entering the Hibbert patrolled paint,  and were limited to just 38.2% of shots made from the field.


- One does not need to take all the shots you get, instead you should play with force, try getting rebounds and play defense the best one can. Once that is done, the rest clicks into place- said Hibbo.


David Sloan also had a great performance, with 16 points (6/13), 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while the newly arrived Rodney Stuckey managed to score 16 points (5/9) and five assists in just 16 minutes, as his time on court was limited by the issues he has with his right foot.


- I've learned not to get surprised by his abilities. I've been immensely impressed by him since he arrived and I believe he will have a great season- says coach Vogel.


Today's match against the Memphis Grizzlies will be the best benchmark of his team's quality, as their opponents started the season with a victory as well, for the first time in 14 years. On Wednesday they defeated the young Wolves, who held on rather well, but the finish went to David Joerger's team, who won 105-101.


-This was a good start to the season, we made many mistakes but we just kept fighting- said coach Dave Joerger.


Before the season started Marc Gasol said he would be more aggressive, and he was true to his words. He loaded up the Wolves' basket with 32 points (12/17), improving his personal best, and also scored nine rebounds and three assists. He was supported well by Zack Randolph, who scored 25 points (12/16) and 13 rebounds.


Despite the great performance of the tall duo, the Timberwolves dominated rebounding (47:33), with their energy and athleticism showing on offense in particular, where they took 19 rebounds.


- We have a lot of things to improve. I have a feeling we could have decided the match on several occasions, but then allowed them to make a comeback. The first match is behind us, and after we see the tapes we'll see where we can improve things- said Tony Allen, their only single digit scoring starter with eight points (Mike Conley 16, Courtney Lee 14).


Last year the Grizzlies allowed an average of just 94.6 points, just 2.3 more than the Pacers. It is therefore little wonder that their duels were extremely tough (95-79 Pacers, 82-71 Grizzlies). This season the situation changed somewhat, but we should not expect a scoring festival, and the away team definitely seem to be the better team right now.