The Indiana Pacers will judge their progress by facing one of the best Eastern teams on Friday night when the Toronto Raptors will come to play in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Both sides won four of their five games, so it’s going to be a good game.
Raptors at Pacers
Spread: PK (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 216.5 points
The Raptors punished for a bad quarter, streak snapped
A fun and proficient first half gave way to a horror show in the second. The Raptors found their rhythm before collapsing and losing the game to the Knicks 100-108 on Tuesday night.
Toronto was coming on the wave of a four-game win streak and a dominant defensive performance in the last two games. The Knicks were up for the challenge this time, and the first quarter was a good display of two teams brimming with confidence. Both sides were running and playing exciting, high powered offensive basketball. Once the second unit came in, the Raptors gained control and went in front. They kept on going until the halftime, building an 11-point on 50 percent shooting, including an 11-of-23 three-point barrage. The halftime couldn’t have come in worse of times. The Raptors cooled off and the Knicks opened up the third quarter hitting shots after shots. Fans late to return from the break must have thought the scoreboard has been broken as the Knicks opened up with a 28-0 run. The Raptors would hit 1-of-16 shots in the third jacking up ill-advised shots, taking unnecessary risks on defense and offense and getting outscored 41-10 in the quarter, easily the worst display in franchise history. The Raptors did pull it together in the final frame, chipping the deficit to 6 on a few occasions only to miss a crucial shot or failing to cover super hot Hardaway and coming short of getting the game back. It was a really weird game, but it’s the NBA circus at it best. For the North, Kyle Lowry led by 7-of-15 shooting to score 25 points and DeRozan scored 18 points, 11 of which in the first quarter.
Norman Powell returned from his hip injury, coming in off the bench. He hit 3 first-half three-pointers but did very little afterward. It kind of knocked of Miles from the rotation and the role in the first half, but he did end up playing 21 minutes, mostly on Anunoby’s account. Backup guard Delon Wright remains out.
Place: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Date/Time: Friday, November 24th, 2017. 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox Sports Indiana, Sportsnet One
Indiana enjoying four-game win streak
It turns out, these Indiana Pacers are much more than a pushover. They won four games in a row, three of which coming on the road, most recently in Orlando 105-97. This last win improved their record to 10-8, good enough to place them on a playoff spot, and miles ahead of their supposed destination.
At Thanksgiving, the Pacers are NBA’s best three-point shooting team percent wise, at 40.4 percent. That’s part one of why they’ve been successful recently. Against the Magic (woeful defense) they were right on the mark 8-of-20, helped by Bogdanovic’s strong 5-of-7 night. Working on second of back-to-back games in Florida after whipping the Miami Heat on Sunday, the Pacers would have been excused for a letdown. Instead, they built on the momentum behind strong games of their wings. Oladipo led the Pacers with 29 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals, and five assists, while Bogdanovic had another 26. McMillan only used eight players, indicating a strong desire to win games that it successfully manages to transfer to his players. The chemistry and trust in each other and their coach is part two of their success. They kept executing offensively instead of rushing shots. Because their defense has improved, they are not as susceptible to losing late leads as they were earlier in the season. These Pacers are continuing to learn and progress, and that’s the thing to be aware off for the near future.
Oladipo was hit in the head but had no lingering issues, and Turner rolled an ankle in Orlando – he had four days to recover and should be fine for this game. Indiana will host Raptors and Boston on a consecutive night, before meeting Orlando again.
Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers Game Trends & Prediction
The Toronto Raptors good spell brought smiles on their backers’ faces, as they turned bets to money on four consecutive occasions before the last game dud. They also played another under, third in a row, but it was very tight. For the season, Toronto is 10-7 overall against the spread and 8-9 on the total points market.
Indiana covered in five of the past six games after a four-game dry spell, improving to 11-7 against the spread, mostly thanks to their road success. At home, they’ve been steady, going 4-3. They’ve also played more unders at home, 2-5 against the O/U, a part of their 9-9 O/U record.
Admi-Rank: Toronto were flying high, so the slight downtick serves only as a warning. On the other side, the Pacers have reached the highest number since the start of the season, as mind you, I never had them so down like most of the pundits. The Raptors still hold an edge.
With plenty of teams struggling with consistency, it’s great to have two teams playing solid ball face each other. They play with a few contrasting styles, so it may come down to the plain execution of the game plan. The Raptors are significantly deeper, but they don’t fare too well against a team who run in transition and can hit plenty from the deep, so Indiana basically needs to hold their opponents to a low percentage and they’ll have a very good chance to win the game. Oladipo – DeRozan matchup could be crucial, but I believe the game could be decided on boards, as both sides have made an emphasis on creating extra possessions by the extra work of the glass.
The books agree on having a close one here, setting a virtual pick-em for this game, with each side given equal chances from the market opening. Still, I can see the market move towards Indy, as they’ve caught the public eye recently. It’s unlikely to create enough of a value on Toronto, and I don’t like the matchup for them particularly well. I’m moving on total points here, as the line has been set too high. The Raptors should be able to keep the Pacers from running up the score, and also showed struggles of their own, so I’m quite happy with my number of 212.5 here. Go with the minus points.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread)
Total: Under 216.5 points (-110)
