Waiting on the Pacers vs. Nuggets

The Pacers play the Western Conference version of themselves on Friday night when the Denver Nuggets come to the Fieldhouse. I'm not saying they have equal talent, but stacked up against the talent within their respective conferences they are comparable. How do they compare?

• Both teams may not be championship caliber but they can beat any team in the league on a given night.
• Both teams made a complete make-over trade that should improve their playoff positioning.
• Both teams have All-Star leaders that often straddle the line between intense and combustible.
• Both teams can look fabulous for a couple of games and then look clueless the next.
• Both teams have great players dealing with nagging injuries that have kept the team from firing on all cylinders long enough to develop a winning rhythm.
• Both teams have had high profile incidents shine a negative light on key players.

Man, these teams are more alike than I thought when I began this post. Needless to say, it's anyone's guess what will happen during Friday night's game. Here is Bruno's preview with comments about Troy Murphy getting comfortable with his role. Hey, there's some good news.

Jermaine O'Neal appears set to return after missing Wednesday night's game a bum knee. The Pacers catch a break knowing that Allen Iverson did not travel with the Nuggs so he can tend to an injured ankle. A.I. has had some memorable nights in the Fieldhouse so I'm sure no one in the Pacers' backcourt is upset that they won't have to chase Iverson around all night. For more info on the Nuggets, check out the Nugg Doctor. He's got the cure for what ails all Nugg fans.