NBA
action on Thursday night and we will see the Orlando Magic take on the Indiana
Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Los Angeles
Clippers. Local TV will carry this game, which has a start time of 7:00 pm
EST.
Current
betting odds for this game have the have the Pacers listed as 7.5 point
favorites, while the total has been set at 207.
Head-To-Head
This Year: Indiana won the 1st meeting 97-84 as 4.5 point home favorites…
Indiana won the 2nd meeting 95-86 as 3.5 point road favorites… Indiana won the
3rd meeting 105-102 as 1.5 point road favorites.
The
Orlando Magic haven’t had much to smile about this year, but they do come in off
a 22 point win over Chicago and then followed that up with a 34 point win over
Brooklyn. Both those games were at home and this one is on the road where they
have gone just 11-26 on the year, including 0-6 their last 6. We also note that
the two wins were the first time since February 7th and 8th that they won two in
a row and they haven’t won 3 in a row since mid December. The leading scorer on
the team is Nikola Vucevic at 17.8 ppg and he leads them in rebounding as well
at 9.0 rpg, but he is listed as questionable for this game. Victor Oladipo is
2nd on the team in scoring at 15.9 ppg, but he did have just 7 points in the
rout of Brooklyn. Evan Fournier (14.8 ppg & 40.3% from long range) and
Elfrid Payton (10.8 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Overall
the Magic enter this game ranked 21st in the league in scoring, putting up just
101.4 ppg, while also ranking 13th in shooting overall, 14th in three point
shooting and 17th from the charity stripe. The defense has been average at best
as they rank 17th in points allowed at 103.2 ppg, while also ranking 19th in
defensive FG% overall and 20th in 3-point defense. On the road the Magic
averaged 98.9 ppg on 44.5% shooting, while allowing 104.6 ppg on 46.2% shooting.
Trends:
The Magic are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win of more
than 10 points and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 vs. Eastern Conference, but 0-7 ATS
the last 7 in the series and 7-16 ATS in their last 23 after scoring 100 points
or more in their previous game. The Over is 7-3 in their last 10 games playing
on 1 days rest, while the Under is 8-1 in their last 9 after scoring 100 points
or more in their previous game.
The
Indiana Pacers are trying to hold on tom the 8th playoff spot in the East, but a
home loss to a struggling Chicago team that is right behind them in the
standings is not a good way to go about holding on to that spot. The Pacers are
still in the 8th spot, but their lead over Chicago is down to just two games.
They still have some breathing room and their remaining schedule isn’t that
tough with four of their last 8 games at home and just 2 of the 8 being vs teams
that are in the playoffs as of now. This is a game they must win. Indiana is
led by Paul George, who averages 23.4 ppg, which is 10th in the league. He is
dealing with an ankle injury, but is listed as probable for this game. Monta
Ellis is next at 14.1 ppg, while George Hill is 3rd at 12.1 ppg and is the
team’s best long range threat hitting 40.4% of his shots from downtown. C.J.
Miles (11.4 ppg) and Myles Turner (10.5 ppg) round out the double digit scorers
on the team, while Ian Mahinmi leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 rpg and chips
in with 9.2 ppg. Overall Indiana comes in ranked 19th in the league in scoring,
putting up 101.7 ppg, while also ranking 18th in shooting overall, 19th from
long range and 16th from the charity stripe. The defense is what leads this team
as they are 7th in points allowed, giving up just 100.4 ppg, while also ranking
8th in defensive FG% and 3rd in 3-point defense. At home this year the Pacers
have averaged 101.9 ppg on 45.5% shooting, while allowing 98.2 ppg on 44.4%
shooting.
Trends:
The Pacers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 when their opponent allows 100 points or
more in their previous game and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a
straight up loss, but just 4-9 ATS their last 13 games at home and 2-7 ATS in
their last 9 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. The Over is 3-1-1
in their last 5 vs. a team with a losing straight up record, while the Under is
21-7 the last 27 games in this series.
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