The Indiana Pacers will travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks. Action begins at 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Apr. 8 and can be seen on FSN-IN and MSG.
The Knicks played well in their last game, topping the 76ers 101-91 on Sunday. Andrea Bargnani was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off a 112-89 win against the Heat on Sunday. Luis Scola claimed his ninth double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The top-notch Pacers defense appears to have an advantage when it comes to effective field goal percentage. They rank fourth in the league in making teams miss (opponents’ effective field goal percentage of 48.0%), whereas the cold-shooting offense of New York is 27th with a mark of 46.9%.
The Pacers have emerged victorious in all three games against the Knicks this year, including a 92-86 win the last time these two teams met. Rodney Stuckey had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 17 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one three-pointer.
The odds for New York and Indiana are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Knicks come into this game 15-62 Straight Up (SU) and 31-44-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 9-38 SU and 20-26-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference.
As for their opponent, the Pacers have a record of 40-34-3 ATS and 34-43 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Indiana is 25-24 SU and 26-21-2 ATS. The Pacers allow just 97.1 points per game, ranking them fifth in the league. The Pacers are a problem for teams on the defensive side, allowing only .437 shooting from the field to their opponents. Defensive rebounding is an area where Indiana has excelled. The Pacers average 29.7 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the best in the league.
In their previous meeting this season, Indiana beat New York, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 8-2. Furthermore, the Pacers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Indiana held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times, while New York was never able to do so in their most recent 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – IND, ATS Winner – IND
Notes
New York is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games.
New York is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home.
New York is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Indiana.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York’s last 5 games when playing Indiana.
New York is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Indiana.
New York is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Indiana.
Indiana is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against New York.
On average, Indiana puts up 97.1 points per game (ranked 24th), while New York allows 101.3 points per game (ranked 20th).
Indiana scores an average of 96.1 points per away game (ranked 22nd), while New York gives up 99.2 points per home game (ranked 18th).
Both New York and Indiana have losing records when they allow and score fewer than 100 points, respectively. The Knicks are 12-22 in the former situation, and the Pacers are 12-33 in the latter.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Knicks are just 3-40 this season. Indiana is a solid 22-10 when it reaches the century mark.
The Knicks have an offensive rating of 97.4 (ranked 29th). The Pacers rank eighth for their defensive rating of 100.6.
With 94.3 possessions and .974 points per possession, the New York Knicks perform worse on both metrics than the Indiana Pacers. Indiana averages 96.5 possessions and 1.006 points per possession.
New York has an average effective field goal percentage of 46.9%. Indiana is a subpar 13-31 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the New York Knicks attempt 19.7 three point field goals per game and the Indiana Pacers attempt 21.1 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, both teams have losing records; New York is 1-13 and Indiana is 6-12.
New York has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.57 this season (ranked 18th). Indiana ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.60 (ranked 17th).
New York ranks 29th in rebounds per game with 40.4, while Indiana ranks sixth with 44.6 per game.
New York is ranked 29th in defensive rebounds, while Indiana ranks 20th in offensive rebounds.
New York has forced an average turnover percentage of 14.2% this season. Indiana has a poor 12-22 record when its TOV% is 14.2% or higher.
