The Indiana Pacers (35-30) travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks (37-29) in what should be a low-scoring game. Action begins at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 13 and can be seen on NBA, FxS and FxI.
The Hawks enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Grizzlies 95-83 on Saturday. Al Horford played a pivotal role with 19 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off a 112-105 win against the Mavericks on Saturday. Paul George claimed his 14th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
George has upped his play over the last five games for the Pacers, averaging 26.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 3.4 three-pointers.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Atlanta ranks second in the league, allowing just 99.7 points per 100 possessions, while Indiana is third (100.6).
The Pacers lead the season series against the Hawks two games to one, but fell short in their most recent game, 102-96. In the loss, George led all scorers on the team with 31 points.
The Hawks have gone 37-29 Straight Up (SU) and 32-32-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 37-29 SU and 32-32-2 ATS against the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have really locked down opponents, ranking second in the league with a .433 opponent field-goal percentage. Opponents have consistently had the ball stolen by the Hawks, who rank third in the league in steals per game with 9.3. Atlanta is the league’s top scoring team off turnovers with an average of 19.2 points per game.
As for their opponent, the Pacers have 35-30 SU and 34-31 ATS records. Against the Eastern Conference, Indiana is 35-30 SU and 34-31 ATS. The Pacers have one of the best opponent three-point field goal percentages in the league at .332. Teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Pacers, who rank fourth in the league with 9.0 steals per game. Indiana is the fifth-best team in the league at scoring points off turnovers with 19.1 per game.
Atlanta beat Indiana in their most recent meeting this season, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the last 10 meetings. On the other hand, the Pacers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl
Notes
“Atlanta is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games “.
“Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games “.
“Atlanta is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home”.
“Atlanta is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games at home”.
“Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Indiana”.
“Atlanta is 15-7 ATS in its last 22 games when playing at home against Indiana”.
“Atlanta is 18-4 SU in its last 22 games when playing at home against Indiana”.
Ranked zeroth, Atlanta puts up 0.0 points per game. On the other hand, Indiana gives up 0.0 and also ranks zeroth (in points allowed).
Atlanta and Indiana are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Atlanta scores an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Indiana gives up 0.0 points per away game on average.
Atlanta has a winning 26-9 record when it gives up under 100 points this season. Indiana is 11-15 when it puts up under 100.
The Atlanta Hawks have a subpar 11-20 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Indiana Pacers are 24-15 when they hit triple digits.
The Hawks have an offensive rating of 103.0 (ranked 21st). The Pacers rank third for their defensive rating of 100.6.
Atlanta averages fewer possessions per game than Indiana, with 99.0 compared to 99.6. However, the Hawks score an average of 1.030 points per possession, more than the 1.027 that the Pacers score.
Atlanta is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 51.5% (ranked sixth in the NBA). Indiana is an abysmal 5-16 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Atlanta Hawks make 25.3 assists per game and the Indiana Pacers make 20.6. Atlanta is ranked second, while Indiana is ranked 24th.
Atlanta makes an average of 5.7 blocks per game (ranked seventh), while Indiana makes 4.8 blocks per game (ranked 16th).
The Atlanta Hawks rank 30th in offensive rebounding, while the Indiana Pacers rank 11th in defensive rebounding.
The Atlanta Hawks average 9.3 steals per game, ranked third in the NBA. The Indiana Pacers are an even 13-13 when they allow at least 9 steals.
