Preview: Suns Face Rejuvenated Pacers

The Phoenix Suns look to extend their winning streak tonight.

The Phoenix Suns (23-18) host the Indiana Pacers (24-18) as the first of a two-game homestand tonight. 

The Suns are red-hot as of late, finally garnering continuity while being winners of nine of their last twelve games. 

The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off of a tough loss to the Portland Trail Blazers - which happened to be the debut of forward Pascal Siakam following the acquisition of the former All-Star on Wednesday. 

Tyrese Haliburton is listed as questionable for Indiana going into tonight.

Three things to watch going into the game:

Pacers' Historic Offense 

The Indiana Pacers are simply a well-oiled machine, Haliburton or not. 

The Pacers have ten qualified players averaging at least eight PPG while shooting 50.5/38.3/79.3 as a team. 

They also average over 30 assists per game- this team is simply high volume and high efficiency rolled into one while also being relatively disciplined when it comes to ball security.

The metrics love the Pacers as well - all accounts point towards this being a historically great regular season offense, and could be an even tougher out if Haliburton is good to go. 

Carlisle vs Vogel: Rubber Match

Rick Carlisle and Frank Vogel are two of the most well-respected coaches in the NBA. 

Both are former championship-winning coaches, as Carlisle won in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks and Vogel won in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Both coaches have differing philosophies as well: Vogel is a defensive minded and pragmatic, while Carlisle is offensive-minded and isn't afraid to get animated on the sideline. 

This will be an elite matchup between coaches with different philosophies and different roster builds to work with. 

As previously mentioned, the Pacers run as many as 11 deep on a game-to-game basis, while the Suns rely heavily on their top six-to-seven players most nights.

While the Suns aren't an extremely deep team, it appears as if Vogel has figured out his long-term rotations and when to switch things up when the original game plan isn't as effective as desired. 

Player to Watch: Obi Toppin 

The Pacers have a litany of players that could be the focus of this section - and that's what makes them a dangerous team. 

Toppin is possibly the supporting cast player that could cause the most problems for Phoenix. 

The fourth-year forward is "only" averaging 11.2 PPG on the season - but is doing so with an inconsistent role. 

Toppin only played 11 minutes in the Pacers' game against vs. Portland following the addition of Siakam and has alternated between a starting/bench role.

The Dayton product has remained steadfast despite an ever-changing role, shooting nearly 60% on two-point attempts and over 40% on three-point attempts. 

Toppin is also a plus athlete and can beat you from all three levels. 

While former Suns player Jalen Smith, frequent Suns trade target T.J. McConnell or Aaron Nesmith could have qualified to make the cut, Toppin appears to be the most difficult matchup for the Suns in this particular contest. 

The Suns and Pacers are set to tip off shortly after 6:00 PM Arizona time tonight.