Wednesday's game is the reason that rest night matters. Indiana gets Tuesday off, and Siakam and Nesmith were held out for rest, not injuries, so a good chunk of the starting group should be back. Andrew Nembhard's cervical strain, Kelly Oubre Jr.'s knee and Larry Nance Jr.'s illness are the open questions. A healthy Siakam playing his normal minutes would put a very different team on the floor than the one Atlanta saw.
The Grizzlies have been the surprise of the young season. Through the 6-0 start they led the league in scoring at 121.2 a game, and they were 1st in net rating, 3-point percentage at 41.6% and rebounding. Cam Spencer and Ty Jerome have run the offense, and the team that was supposed to be rebuilding hasn't played like it. The 136-105 win over Sacramento matched the best start in franchise history.
Then New Orleans dropped 41 in the 3rd quarter and won 135-134 in overtime, on a night the Pelicans were missing Dejounte Murray, Jordan Poole and Yves Missi. Memphis hadn't allowed more than 112 all season before that. Scotty Pippen Jr. (back) and Quinten Post (ankle) both sat, and how quickly they return will shape how much depth Memphis has on Wednesday.
For Indiana, the 5-game skid has been mostly close losses: by 8 in Milwaukee, by 5 to Philadelphia, by 8 to Brooklyn and by 4 to Atlanta's 6-man scramble. The blowout was the 145-125 loss in Miami. The question is whether a partly rested Pacers group can slow down a Memphis offense that shoots 3s at the league's best rate, or whether this becomes another night when Indiana runs out of bodies. Memphis is fresh off its first loss and at home, so it won't be easing off.
