The Indiana Pacers (31-41) square off against the visiting Dallas Mavericks (45-28) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 29 and will air on FSN-SW and FSN-IN.
The Pacers were beaten by the Bucks 111-107 on Thursday. C.J. Watson had a good game for Indiana, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are coming off an ugly 94-76 loss at the hands of the Spurs on Friday. Tyson Chandler scored 10 points and recorded 14 rebounds earning his 27th double-double of the season.
Over the last five games, George Hill has been playing at a high level for the Pacers. During that stretch, he has averaged 23.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.8 blocks, and 2.4 three-pointers.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, this will be a battle of strength versus strength when the Mavericks have the ball. Their sweet-shooting offense ranks fifth in the NBA in that metric at 51.3%, while the Pacers are fourth-best in the league in effective field goal percentage defense (48.1%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Pacers won the first game 111-100. Donald Sloan scored a game-high 29 points.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Pacers enter the game with records of 31-41 Straight Up (SU) and 37-32-3 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 8-19 SU and 13-13-1 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. Indiana’s defense is doing poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 104.2 points per game, well above their season average of 97.2. An area where the Pacers are particularly strong is defensive rebounding where they average 34.2 defensive rebounds per game, fifth in the NBA.
On the other side, Dallas has a SU record of 45-28 and an ATS record of 31-39-3. Most recently, Dallas is a meager 2-8 ATS over the last 10 games. Dallas has not committed many turnovers, averaging only 12.5 per game. On top of that, the Mavericks know how to make opponents pay for their own missteps. They lead the league in points off turnovers with an average of 19.5 per game.
Indiana won the last meeting this season between these two teams, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. However, with a 7-3 record, the Pacers have the advantage ATS. Both Indiana and Dallas have led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) three times over the last 10.
Predictions: SU Winner – DAL, ATS Winner – DAL
Notes
Indiana is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games.
Indiana is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana’s last 6 games at home.
Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Indiana is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana’s last 6 games when playing Dallas.
Indiana is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing Dallas.
Indiana is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana’s last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas.
Indiana ranks 24th in points per game with 96.8, while Dallas ranks 20th in points allowed with an average of 100.9 given up.
Indiana ranks 22nd in points per home game with 97.6 points, while Dallas ranks 14th in points allowed on the road with 100.0.
The Dallas Mavericks lost their last game by 18 points. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, the Indiana Pacers are 6-4. Dallas is 14-6 in blowouts this season.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Dallas Mavericks are a dazzling 24-5. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Indiana Pacers have a losing record of 11-32.
Dallas is 21-23 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Pacers have a solid 20-9 record when hitting triple digits.
The Mavericks have the fifth-best offensive rating in the NBA (106.4). The Pacers are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 100.8 (ranked 10th).
The Dallas Mavericks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking sixth in the league with a FG% of 46.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Indiana Pacers have an underachieving 6-19 record.
The Indiana Pacers average 21.2 three point attempts per game and have a poor 5-12 record when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Dallas Mavericks average 26.0 attempts and have a winning 32-15 record when attempting 25 or more.
The Indiana Pacers rank 17th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.60. The Dallas Mavericks have a higher A/TO (1.78), ranking seventh.
The Indiana Pacers rebound 44.6 times per game and are ranked seventh. Ranked 24th, the Dallas Mavericks rebound 42.1 times per game.
The Dallas Mavericks rank 18th in offensive rebounding, while the Indiana Pacers rank fifth in defensive rebounding.
Dallas is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.0% (ranked third). Indiana has an abysmal record of 3-17 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 16.0% or greater.
