Indiana Pacers will host the Portland Trail Blazers in a rare East-West matchup this early in the season. It’s also a meeting between two teams who scored at will in their first games, so it’s going to be interesting to see whether they can burn the nets again or they’ll cool off.
Trail Blazers at Pacers
Spread: Portland -2.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: over 221.5 (-110)
Trail Blazers win by 48 in Phoenix
The Blazers couldn’t have planned or imagined a better start to a new season than a total demolition of the Suns in Phoenix on Wednesday night when they played an almost perfect game to win 74-126. This was the largest margin of opening-night victory ever in the NBA. Portland led by as many as 58 points, shot 49 percent from the field and 14-of-24 from the three-point territory. They also grabbed 57 rebounds to Suns’ 33, a true testament to the effort of both sides. If you are not impressed already, they did it without their second-best player, C.J. McCollum, who served a suspension for leaving the bench during an altercation in the last preseason game.
Damian Lillard led the way with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in just 30 minutes, but it was the bench who turned a one-sided game into a historic blowout. Pat Connaughton made best of his extended time to score 24 points, as the Blazers reserves outscored their counterparts 51-27.
The Trail Blazers don’t play a home opener until next Tuesday, as they continue the road start of the season with visits to Indiana and Milwaukee. C.J. McCollum returns to the starting lineup for these games, shifting Turner back to the bench.
Place: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Date/Time: Friday, October 20th, 2017. 7:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox Sports Indiana
Indy beats Brooklyn in a high scoring affair
Last season, we kind of got used to scores topping 120 points on a regular basis, as the points across the league trended up. Still, 271 points in regulation, scored at Pacers vs. Nets game on Wednesday are of an All-Star game variety. The Pacers came on top, slowly building on a lead as the game progressed and keeping their cool in the clutch to win 140-131. The 75 points they’ve scored in the second half alone, beat Portland’s previous opponents output for a full game.
As you might expect, plenty of factors attributed towards such a high total. Both carefree Nets and eager-to-impress Pacers pushed the ball and paid very little attention to defense. 64 combined free throws were more a result of impatient ‘shoot-it-already’ approach and whistle-happy refs than a dogfight. Pacers hit only 9-of-34 triples but managed to make up for it by 102 total field goal attempts. In the preview of the last game, I did mention that it’s going to take a team effort for the Pacers, as there’s no clear team leader, but little could I have known that all but two Pacers will score in double digits. It was such a night.
Unsurprisingly, coach McMillan didn’t seem too happy about how Indiana played on defense, so he’ll make sure to get this message across. Portland can be dangerous when their backcourt tandem catches fire, and Pacers would probably lose in a shootout attempt. Last year, two teams split the season series, protecting their home courts. Indiana came out victorious when they allowed 111 points to Blazers, but lost when they gave up 131.
Portland Trail Blazers at Indiana Pacers Game Trends & Prediction
The Knicks were very average when it comes to betting. They’ve gone 42-40 against the spread last season, and 38-42-2 compared to the over/under lines. Most of those unders came in the final weeks of the season, when the disappointment of failing to reach the playoffs sucked the energy out of veteran players.
The Oklahoma City Thunder overachieved, probably due to the fact that the expectations were rather low after Durant’s departure. They mustered an excellent 45-36-1 ATS overall record, rewarding their backers on most nights. As far as the total has gone, they somehow got a reputation of the up-tempo team, so the high lines they face shifted their O/U record towards the unders. For the season, the Thunder went 37-44-1. The first record will likely change for the worse, if not be reversed, but I don’t see a much different O/U record for this entire season.
A unique ranking system – AdmiRank helps you understand how good NBA teams are on a scale to 100. It’s quite obvious that I don’t hold Knicks in high regard, and you probably agree on it with me. Both sides are trending in the right direction after initial wins, yet the Trail Blazers have an edge in the rankings.
This is not a contrarian logic per se, but I don’t think the two offenses can stay hot. As both sides do enjoy running, the game will be played at a high pace, and I fancy Blazers chances more in such scenario. However, there’s an obvious underrating of these Pacers, so I’m not surprised by the set spread.
The books have Portland as a small jolly in this matchup, serving them with a 2.5 points handicap. There’ll be plenty of public punters who will overreact to the first game blowout, so guard yourself against it. I’m giving equal chances to the both sides in Indy. The Blazers haven’t done enough to be road favorite here, so go and grab the home dog and don’t forget to include a moneyline bet. Further, take the under points. There’s no need to rush with this bet, you can test your patience with it, as there’s a possibility that early punter will go after plus points, but don’t miss the good value.
My Pick: Indiana +2.5 (-110) and ml (+115)
Total: Under 221.5 (-110)
