After Carmelo Anthony had the chance to get the win against his old team last week, the other big signing of the OKC Thunder will get his turn – Paul George will see some new faces wear familiar jerseys, but also some of his past teammates, when the Indiana Pacers come to town on Wednesday. The only difference is that this time, the Thunder aren’t enjoying themselves coming into the game.
Pacers at Thunder
Spread: OKC Thunder -14.5 (-110)
Total: Over/under 218 (-110)
The Pacers make short stops to visit Teague and George in two days
The nature of the NBA is that you get to face former players and coaches more or less frequently, but it’s rare to have to play against two former starters from the last season in two days, like the Pacers are set to do. Sure, Teague hasn’t left a big trail in yellow jersey during his short time, so the team is mostly amped up about Wednesday, when they get to see Paul George in his new Thunder jersey. Additionally, players who the Thunder traded for him (Oladipo, Sabonis) will want to show their worth to the former employer.
The things haven’t been going too well for Indiana as they begin the rebuilding season. After scoring 140 points in the opener, they’ve lost their next two games, most recently one in Miami. After trailing by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, the Pacers rallied to within two points in the final minute, but fell 112-108 to the Miami Heat. They played without Myles Turner again, but Domantas Sabonis stepped in and filled admirably with 18-point, 12-rebound night. Considering that they played on the second night of a back-to-back set, the Pacers could be praised for the effort. Still, the usual bug, defense, remains a killer. Giving up more than 110 points, as the Pacers have done in all three of their games, is a tough way to win. For most of the game, the Heat got the kind of shots they wanted, and from whom they wanted.
If the Pacers are going to knock off the Thunder, they’ll need to start shooting the 3-ball better. They are off to a dreadful start, making just 28.2 percent of their shots from beyond the arc prior to the Wolves game, good for 28th in the NBA. Turner’s eventual return will alleviate some of the problem, but offseason acquisition Bojan Bogdanovic has failed to pull his weight so far. It’s unclear when the sweet-shooting center will return – he’s suffering from neck pain and a concussion, and those are tricky to predict – he has been declared out for the game in Minneapolis tonight.
Place: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 25th, 2017. 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Indiana
Baby ailments or signs of trouble for OKC?
When the things start going down the hill, the first approach is diverting attention to something else. The media turned their heads on a second consecutive weak showing of the Thunder, choosing instead to invoke the general thinking that the Thunder were robbed by the officials in final seconds of a thrilling game against the Wolves. Believe whatever you like, but the bottom line is that they did not deserve to win, and even if they had, they’ll still be facing the same issues like they do now.
The starting lineup struggled to find fluidity on both ends of the court for most of the game. I’m not implying that Westbrook, George, and Anthony can’t coexist together. But it was obvious that they aren’t comfortable just yet. It was only when Westbrook decided that he’s better doing everything alone and ended up hitting triple after triple, only then the Thunder narrowed the gap. It was the same old last year’s edition that led them to nowhere. Worse, the role players are not sure what their role is now, especially on the defense (on the offense, they get to set screens and stand around, so it’s simple). The Thunder could stop the Wolves wings the same way as they failed to handle Jazz wings.
The good news, it’s all normal. No need to panic, the team has just been put together and they should get better over time. Some young players off the bench are developing nicely, and there’s a togetherness (at least on the surface) between the stars. After the Pacers, OKC travels to Minny to try and avenge the loss, make corrections to their game and take every opponent seriously.
Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder Game Trends & Prediction
The Indiana Pacers covered the spread in Miami, and are now 2-1 ATS overall. Small teams (in term of expectations) can be profitable with effort, and they seem to fit the bill so far. The total points have been profitable for those who chose plus points, as the Pacers went 2-1 against the over/under. Even the sole under would probably turn out otherwise had the result stayed closer.
The Thunder have been favored all three times (yes, even in Utah!), so they lost money of their backers twice. The only cover was against the lowly Knicks, a team of similar qualities like the Thunder, and a similar opposition in terms of star motivation. After holding their first two opponents to under 100 points, and shooting rather poorly in both first games, the Thunder allowed 115 points in the last loss. The final result has been ramped up by all the 4th quarter threes, but it would still be a likely over. Two games of the three were played at an above average pace (and games against Utah are something special and close to an automatic snail-paced unders as possible), but the Thunder aren’t playing super-fast. This could change against the Pacers.
A unique ranking system – AdmiRank helps you understand how good NBA teams are on a scale to 100. The Pacers rebuilding season comes with low expectations, so the results so far are relatively good compared to it. The Thunder do dream big things, but I’ve decided to wait to see how things go with them and it proved to be a smart decision. The reason they aren’t downtrending is that they were expected to struggle a bit right away.
Despite all the eagerness to play of Indiana players, the Thunder should control this game. They don’t want to dig a hole, even a small one, and good teams hate being sub-.500. On top of that, they will be well rested and Indiana plays tonight, on the road. What’s most interesting about this game is the pace. Considering that market is all over plus points in Minnesota, it’s likely to happen again tomorrow in this game.
Take Oklahoma City -14.5 and over in total points.
My Pick: Thunder -14.5 (-110)
Total: Over 218 points (-110)
