Indiana Pacers: Predicting results for the final 7 games

Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers, May 15 (TBD)

The defending champs come to Indianapolis for the Pacers’ penultimate game of the season. For both LA and Indiana, this is the first game of a back to back to end their respective seasons. The Purple and Gold have had a rocky going lately, falling to 6th in the jam-packed Western Conference and quite far from securing a homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

After battling a rough slew with injuries, the Lakers have their primetime players back. Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still finding their groove after months of absences, but this is a team that has too much pride to not correct themselves and hit a sweet spot before heading into the postseason, especially with the brutal nature of the West.

This game will similarly be controlled by LA. If they are safe from the play-in at that point, they may opt to rest some of their key cogs to avoid last-minute injuries. A reasonable bet here is that they indeed sit out some players, but Indiana’s hit-and-miss offense will be miserable with former coach Frank Vogel’s suffocating defensive schemes.

Final Score: Los Angeles 106, Indiana 98