NBA: Brooklyn Nets vs. Indiana Pacers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Brooklyn Nets are on a three-game slide and travel to Indiana to face the Pacers, who lost their last five contests. This is an odd position for the Nets, who didn’t get used to losing in series. After all, they are the top favorites for winning the title, with two former MVPs in the lineup and one other superstar, who, truth be told, didn’t play a single game this year. As for the Pacers, they are hit hard by COVID-19 and have several players out of the picture for the moment. But even with all of them available, they played below every expectation.

Preview

Brooklyn Nets (23-12, -170) lost all three games at home, which only makes it more difficult for us to understand what is happening in their game. These oscillations are something that forces us to doubt their championship abilities. Now, for some, that might be a bit too harsh, but it raises suspicion.

Memphis went away from Brooklyn with a 118-104 win, with Ja Morant dropping 36 buckets. But we’ve expected to see him in the best possible shape. What surprised us was the difference in rebounds, with the Grizzlies having 61 and the Nets miserable 33. That was the key to the loss.

Durant scored 26 points, James Harden 19, two of them shooting threes 4-for-15. In total, the Nets made only nine long-distance hits. Patty Mills ended the night without a single bucket, shooting threes 0-for-5. He had only one assist in 30 minutes.

Indiana Pacers (14-24, +155) suffered five wins in a row – in Chicago, then two at home, vs Charlotte and the Bulls again, before getting routed on the road in Cleveland and New York. The majority of these losses were pretty tight, but that is no consolation for Rick Carlisle’s unit.

The Knicks were better, 104-94 at Madison last night. Guard Keifer Sykes was the top scorer for Indiana with 22 points, having six assists and playing very well. Domantas Sabonis had 15 points with 8 boards, while Duane Washington Jr. dropped 17 buckets. Justin Holiday and Miles Turner combined for lousy 8 points, and these two were simply catastrophic.

The Pacers won’t have LeVert, Brogdon, Torey Craig, TJ McConnell, Bitadze, TJ Warren, rookie Chris Duarte, and Jeremy Lamb tonight, so there will be plenty new faces on the court.

Head to Head Games

These teams played in late October in Brooklyn. That contest ended in the hosts’ favor, 105-98. The Pacers had a 38-26 lead following the first period but managed to waste it. Torey Craig had 28 points and 11 boards for Indiana, Duarte added 19, and Sabonis 16. James Harden dropped 29 for the home side, while Durant scored 22 and 11 boards.

Prediction

The Pacers are shredded with injuries, and this is the perfect moment for the Nets to go out and win one game. They can’t afford to slip again, particularly against the Pacers, who are in one hell of a problematic situation. We wouldn’t recommend chasing the spreads or anything like that but go straight for Brooklyn’s victory. The odds are solid when looking at the entire picture, and we need to use them.

Pick: Nets win -170

Here is the preview for Heat vs. Trail Blazers game.