LeBron James will face old foes Indiana Pacers, but now in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform when they collide on Wednesday night at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
James missed the Cavaliers' 106-100 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday for precautionary reasons, but the four-time Most Valuable Player is expected to suit up for Cleveland, who will look to score their fourth win in as many games in the 2014 NBA preseason.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel knows James well, as his team was eliminated by the Miami Heat in the playoffs several times. But without his usual defenders for James like Paul George and Lance Stephenson, Vogel has a plan on how to stop the Cavaliers superstar on Wednesday night.
"Everybody is going to get a crack," Vogel said via Indianapolis Star. "Honestly I am going to send multiple defenders at him just to give some of these guys an opportunity. Solomon Hill never got a shot Rodney (Stuckey) and CJ (Miles) typically have not had a chance to guard him because they are playing shooting guard. Chris Copeland and Donald (Sloan) haven't had a chance. So I'll probably give everyone a shot to get some experience."
Playing without George, the Pacers have been struggling this preseason, losing to the Orlando Magic and the Dallas Mavericks during the weekend. Vogel said that their upcoming game against Cleveland will be a good barometer for them, saying that the Cavaliers are one of the top teams in the league this year.
"This is sort of the first test for us this year without Paul George to be creative with our schemes and see what our wing rotation looks like against one of the elite wings," Vogel said. "It's as big a challenge that we are going to face defensively this year and I'm eager to see how it plays out."
Aside from James, newly-acquired forward Kevin Love is also expected to have a fair share of the spotlight as he is coming off his best game in a Cavaliers uniform.
Love scored 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, 5-for-7 from the three-point region, on Tuesday, leading the Cavaliers to a victory against the Bucks.
The Cavaliers-Pacers preseason match is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM ET and will be shown live on NBA TV.
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