The Indiana Pacers head to SBC Center to take on the San Antonio Spurs. The game starts at 8:30 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 21 and will air on FxI and FSW.
The Spurs were victorious over the Clippers 115-107 on Friday. LaMarcus Aldridge fueled the Spurs, recording 26 points and 13 rebounds to notch his ninth double-double this season. The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off a 96-84 loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday. Paul George had a good shooting night, leading the game with 29 points.
Aldridge has been playing at a high level as of late for the Spurs, averaging 19.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over the last five games.
The Spurs are a heavy eight-point favorite at home and the Over/Under (O/U) for this matchup is set at 197 points. The Spurs enter the game with records of 23-5 Straight Up (SU) and 19-9 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 8-2 ATS. The Spurs, sporting the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA (1.85), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Transitioning to the San Antonio defense, teams have to fight for open shots against the Spurs, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .420. An area where the Spurs are particularly strong is defensive rebounding where they average 36.8 defensive rebounds per game, second in the NBA.
Across the court, Indiana has a SU record of 16-10 and an ATS record of 15-11. In Western Conference games, Indiana has gone 4-6 SU and 2-8 ATS. Playing against Western Conference foes really brings the worst out of the Pacers on the defensive end. They allow 105.9 points per game against teams in the West, which is higher than their season average of 98.5.
This is the first meeting of the season for the Spurs and the Pacers. The last time they played San Antonio came out on top, moving its SU record against the Pacers to 9-1 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. At 5-5, they are even ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA, ATS Winner – SA, O/U – Over
Notes
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio’s last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio’s last 5 games at home.
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
San Antonio is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games when playing Indiana.
The total has gone OVER in 17 of San Antonio’s last 25 games when playing Indiana.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana.
San Antonio is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Indiana.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana’s last 5 games when playing on the road against San Antonio.
The Pacers are a top-10 scoring team, averaging 103.0 points per game. San Antonio gives up just 88.9 points per game, best in the league.
Indiana averages a solid 103.2 points per away game this season. However, San Antonio is the top-ranked team in points allowed at home, giving up just 87.5 points per game.
The Pacers have a 13-3 record when they allow fewer than 100 points. The Spurs, however, have performed well when they score under 100 points, with a record of 9-4 in such matchups.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Pacers are just 3-7 this season. San Antonio is a fantastic 14-1 when registering triple digits.
The Spurs have the best defense in the NBA, with a defensive rating of 93.1. The Pacers have an offensive rating of 103.2 (ranked 11th).
San Antonio has an average field goal percentage of 48.3% (ranked second). Indiana is a losing 1-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, San Antonio attempts 19.0 three pointers and Indiana attempts 24.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Spurs are even at 1-1 while the Pacers have a solid 10-5 record.
The San Antonio Spurs top the league in assist to turnover ratio this season with an A/TO of 1.85. The Indiana Pacers have an A/TO of 1.39 (ranked 21st).
San Antonio ranks near the top of the NBA for rebounds at fifth (46.2 per game), while Indiana ranks 15th with 44.0 per game.
San Antonio ranks among the best in the league in defensive rebounds at second, while Indiana ranks a solid 14th in offensive rebounds.
Though Indiana is one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.1% (ranked fifth), San Antonio has a stellar 8-2 record SU when it has a TOV% of 16.1% or greater.
