The Oklahoma City Thunder (47-22) head to Indiana to take on the Pacers (36-32) in a matchup that pits the second-ranked offense against the third-ranked defense. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 19 and will air on FxI and FxK.
The Pacers lost to the Raptors 101-94 on Thursday. George Hill was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 18 points. The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off a 111-97 win over the 76ers on Friday. Kevin Durant had a good game and claimed his 25th double-double of the season, accumulating 26 points and 13 rebounds.
It will be a matchup of strength versus strength, as the high-octane offense of the Thunder (second in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 110.3) take the court against the stingy defense of the Pacers (third in the league with a defensive efficiency of 100.6).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Pacers won the first game 101-98. In the loss, Russell Westbrook had a double-double with 23 points and 18 assists.
The Pacers are attempting to build on their records of 36-32 Straight Up (SU) and 35-33 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 36-32 SU and 35-33 ATS versus the Western Conference. The Pacers are fourth in the league in steals with 9.0 per game. Something to watch out for is if Indiana can force its opponents into turnovers and convert them into baskets. They’ve done an excellent job of that all year with an average of 19.0 points off turnovers per game.
On the other side, Oklahoma City has a SU record of 47-22 and an ATS record of 28-38-3. When traveling to play against teams in the Eastern Conference, Oklahoma City has a record of SU, but only 11-21-1 ATS. The Thunder are a force on the boards, grabbing a league-best 48.6 rebounds per game.
With the Pacers’ last win against Oklahoma City, Indiana is still behind in the head-to-head record over the last 10 meetings, 4-6 SU. Additionally, the Thunder lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – OKC
Notes
“Indiana is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“Indiana is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana’s last 6 games “.
“Indiana is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana’s last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 19 of Indiana’s last 24 games when playing Oklahoma City”.
“Indiana is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City”.
“Indiana is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City”.
“The total has gone OVER in 11 of Indiana’s last 12 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City”.
Indiana’s offense and Oklahoma City’s defense are well matched when it comes to scoring. Indiana scores 0.0 points per game (ranked zeroth). Oklahoma City gives up 0.0 points per game, which is also ranked zeroth.
Indiana and Oklahoma City are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Indiana puts up an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Oklahoma City allows 0.0 points per away game on average.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Pacers are 27-5 on the season. When the Thunder score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 3-11.
The Indiana Pacers have an underachieving 9-27 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Oklahoma City Thunder are 44-11 when they hit triple digits.
The Pacers have an offensive rating of 102.2 (ranked 24th). The Thunder rank 12th for their defensive rating of 103.2.
With 99.7 possessions and 1.022 points per possession, the Indiana Pacers perform worse on both metrics than the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City averages 99.9 possessions and 1.103 points per possession.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the league with an EFF% of 52.3%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Indiana Pacers have an abysmal 5-16 record.
Indiana makes an average of 20.6 assists per game (ranked 24th). Oklahoma City ranks higher in assists with 22.9 (ranked ninth).
Indiana makes an average of 4.9 blocks per game (ranked 16th). Oklahoma City ranks higher in blocks with 6.1 (ranked third).
The Indiana Pacers are a top-15 offensive rebounding team, currently ranked 14th for the season. The Oklahoma City Thunder rank near the very top (third) in defensive rebounding.
Making 9.0 steals per game, Indiana is ranked fourth in the NBA. Oklahoma City has a solid 22-13 record when it gives up at least 9 steals.
