The Atlanta Hawks head to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to take on the Indiana Pacers. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 28 and will air on FxS, FxI and C+D.
The Pacers lost a winnable game to the Clippers 91-89 on Tuesday. Paul George recorded 31 points and 11 rebounds, earning his 10th double-double of the year. The Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a 119-105 win over the Nuggets on Monday. Paul Millsap led the game in scoring with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
Myles Turner has been playing at a high level as of late for the Pacers, averaging 19.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.6 steals, and 2.8 blocks over the last five games.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Pacers won the first game 93-87. Despite the loss, Millsap was a top performer in the game with 24 points, seven rebounds, two assists, four steals, one block, and two three-pointers.
The Pacers are favored by a small two-point margin in their matchup against Atlanta. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at 206 points. The Pacers are attempting to build on their records of 23-22 Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 3-7 ATS. The Pacers are the fourth-best team in the league at taking the ball away from their opponents, averaging 9.4 steals per game. If its opponents turn the ball over, Indiana has shown that it knows how to capitalize. They average 20.3 points off turnovers, making them the second-best team in the league for that category.
Across the court, Atlanta has a SU record of 27-20 and an ATS record of 22-23-2. In Eastern Conference games, Atlanta has gone 16-11 SU and 13-12-2 ATS. The Hawks are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .793 free throw percentage that ranks fifth in the NBA. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Hawks. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the league at 1.78. Switching gears to Atlanta’s defense, it averages 9.6 steals per game, good for third in the league. A large part of Atlanta’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 19.9 points per game off turnovers, which ranks first in the league.
With the Pacers’ last win against Atlanta, the two teams’ head-to-head record is now an even 5-5 SU in their last 10 games. However, with a 6-4 record, the Pacers have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl, ATS Winner – Atl, O/U – Over
Notes
Indiana is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Indiana’s last 23 games.
Indiana is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Indiana’s last 11 games at home.
Indiana is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Indiana’s last 14 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Indiana is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
On average, Atlanta puts up 102.1 points per game (ranked 10th), while Indiana allows 100.0 points per game (ranked ninth).
Atlanta averages 101.2 points per away game (ranked 10th). However, Indiana has allowed an average of just 97.2 points per home game (ranked fifth).
Atlanta has a solid 16-7 record when it gives up under 100 points this season. Indiana is 9-10 when it scores under 100.
The Atlanta Hawks have an 11-12 record when their opponents score 100 points or more. The Indiana Pacers have a 14-12 record when they reach the century mark.
The Pacers have a defensive rating of 100.0, fourth-best in the NBA. The Hawks also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 104.0 (ranked 10th).
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with a FG% of 46.1%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Indiana Pacers have a subpar 2-11 record.
On average, the Indiana Pacers attempt 23.0 three point field goals per game and the Atlanta Hawks attempt 26.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Indiana has a 12-10 record and Atlanta has a 12-16 record.
The fourth-ranked team, Atlanta has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.78 this season. Indiana ranks lower at 27th with an A/TO of 1.37.
Atlanta ranks 29th in rebounds per game with 40.8, while Indiana ranks 14th with 43.6.
Indiana is ranked 17th in defensive rebounds, while Atlanta ranks 30th in offensive rebounds.
Atlanta has forced one of the highest average turnover rates this season with 16.3% (ranked second). In games where their turnover rate is 16.3% or higher, Indiana is an even 7-7.
