Autumn Allison

autumn.allison@indystar.com

Grizzlies at Pacers%2C 7 p.m. Friday%2C FSI

Maybe it was opening night jitters that held Donald Sloan back the first 24 minutes. Or maybe the Indiana Pacers just hadn't gotten a handle on the youthful Philadelphia 76ers yet.

Whatever the reason, Sloan, typically a backup guard, proved he could step into the hole left by the absence of George Hill and C.J. Watson with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the Pacers' home-opening win.

It was his career-first double-double.

"He was really good. He struggled a little bit early on, which is kind of expected because he's not used to being the starting point guard but he really stabilized us in the second half and made some big shots," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. "Obviously got 10 rebounds which is pretty good, and six assists, so I think it was a solid all-around performance."

Sloan's performance mirrored that of the team. The Pacers first half was filled with bad passes, resulting in 13 turnovers, before the team rallied and closed out the 103-91 victory.

"I wasn't even shocked by how many (turnovers) we had (early)," Sloan said. "As the game went on, guys settled down, keyed in on hand-eye coordination with actually trying to catch the ball first and then moving on to trying to make a play."

With a regular season win, a start and his first career double-double under his belt, Sloan can only build on the experience moving forward. He's expected to start at least the first two weeks while Watson and Hill recover from injuries.

"I think every time a young player gets an opportunity to gain some confidence by having some small successes or pretty big success, I think it helps you going forward," said Vogel.

Sloan echoed his coach's thoughts: "I think as much as you play, as much as you can be in different situations in game flow, it only makes it that much better."

And that extra boost of confidence will be helpful for Friday's game against Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley. The former Lawrence North High School standout will provide a tough challenge for Sloan.

"He's got to battle. It's going to be a great test for him but he's not responsible for stopping Michael Conley, we're responsible for stopping Michael Conley," Vogel said. "(Sloan's) the first line of defense on the ball and everyone else has got to be diving in to help."

Sloan is already planning what needs to be done to contain Memphis' up-tempo offense.

"The wings being in the right spots as far as helping, the bigs being up on the pick-and-roll and me getting to the ball to create a little bit more pressure," he said. "It's not a one-man job for anybody in this league. It's always going to be a group effort."

Follow Star reporter Autumn Allison on Twitter: @Aallison25.

MEMPHIS at INDIANA

>>Tipoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Bankers Life Fieldhouse

>>TV: FSI

>>Radio: 107.5 FM, WFNI-AM (1070)

Projected Starters

Pacers (1-0)

Pos. Player Pts. Key stat PG Donald Sloan 16.0 10 rebounds SG C.J. Miles 15.0 2-of-8 3s SF Solomon Hill 3.0 6 rebounds PF Luis Scola 10.0 6 rebounds C Roy Hibbert 22 7 blocks

Grizzlies (1-0)

Pos. Player Pts. Key stat PG Mike Conley 16.0 6 assists SG Courtney Lee 14.0 3 assists SF Tony Allen 8.0 3 steals PF Zach Randolph 25.0 13 rebounds C Marc Gasol 32.0 9 rebounds

>>No more PT for Stuckey: Guard Rodney Stuckey, who despite his limited minutes produced 16 points Wednesday, will not see increased minutes this weekend.

"It's not about can he play," Vogel said. "It's about the way he responds to the workload so we have to be smart about what that level of the workload is."

Stuckey hopes to speak with the doctors again next week.

>>Potent bench: In addition to Stuckey, the Pacers got 11 points from Chris Copeland off the bench, and a total of 37. Bench production was an issue for the Pacers last season but Lavoy Allen (6 points, 5 rebounds) and Ian Mahinmi (4 points, 9 rebounds) were also effective in Wednesday's opener.

>>Familiar faces: The Grizzlies include several players with Indiana ties. The starting backcourt of Conley (Lawrence North) and Lee (Pike) played their high school ball in Indianapolis with Randolph a native of Marion.

>>Prediction: Wednesday's opening night victory was nice, but the Pacers are about to face a different level of competition. Memphis won its first opener since 2000 -- snapping a 13-game losing streak -- with Gasol scoring a career-high 32 points on Wednesday. Hibbert and Scola are capable of matching up with the Grizzlies inside but whether Sloan can hang with Conley will determine the outcome of this game. Memphis 105, Indiana 98.

— Nat Newell