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

The Brooklyn Nets host the Indiana Pacers hoping to get out of the sub-.500 zone. That is something just a few could imagine before the start of the year, but it happened anyway. Still, Durant and Harden are determined to rise above all the problems and get back on the winning track. As for the Pacers, they really didn’t have too much luck in the opening matches, plus the schedule was a bit cruel. And suddenly, they are 1-4. Rick Carlisle has a good team at his disposal, and at some point, they will start to pound hard.

Preview

Indiana Pacers (1-4, +400) lost the first two games by one point; they defeated the Heat after OT before losing to the champions, the Bucks, 119-109. Following this event, Indiana went across the border to Toronto, only to suffer a massive loss, 118-100.

The big hit for the team from Indianapolis is Malcolm Brogdon’s absence. His hamstring injury will prevent him from playing in this one, and the Pacers now need to cover up their first scorer. Brogdon delivered 23.4 points per game.

Domantas Sabonis needs to quickly forget his poor performance in Canada when he had 9 points and 8 boards. The Lithuanian is a double-double player, who also adds at least five assists, and in the current situation, he will have to do much better.

Brooklyn Nets (2-3, -500) have had subsequent losses and wins since the opening night, and the latest match finished with their loss at home to the Miami Heat. Now, despite what many believe, the Heat have a serious team, a championship-worthy, so the win at Barclays isn’t that surprising.

The Nets were limited to only 93 points, and 38.8% of shooting from the field. What was appalling in Brooklyn’s game were 42 boards, twenty fewer than their rivals. That was the real difference-maker in this contest. The Heat too, had a poor shooting percentage but had a lot of second-chance buckets.

James Harden was again under his level. The Beard was 4-for-12 with 14 points, seven boards and seven assists. Joe Harris scored 15 points, all five threes, while Bruce Brown had 12. Durant scored 25 with 11 rebounds, and again, none of the players off the bench had more than 10 points. Patty Mills scored four, Aldridge six, Paul Millsap seven.

Head to Head Games

Brooklyn was better in all three games against the Pacers last year. The first was in NY, and the hosts had no trouble 104-94. The next two took place in Indianapolis, and the Nets defeated the rivals solely because of a high-octane defense, 124-115 and 130-113.

Prediction

The spread on the Nets is -9, and the hosts should be able to cover that. There are several reasons why we think so. The first one is Brogdon’s absence. One of the most rational guards in the league is the brain of the Pacers, and there isn’t a player on their roster with a similar capacity to organize the game. Brooklyn’s desire to bounce back following a loss is another reason. That is why we want to back up the Nets to win this one with the spread covered.

Pick: Nets -9