Pacers game tonight: Indiana Pacers vs Nets Odds, Injury Report, and Predictions for Jan. 05

After falling short to the New York Knicks 101-94, the Pacers will return home to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to take on the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving will make his season debut against the Indiana Pacers, after missing 35 games.

The Indiana Pacers are currently 13th in the Eastern Conference and are looking to take down a team that is second in the East with a record of 23-12. The Pacers are 14-24.

It will be a challenge for Indiana, who will remain without their point guard Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb, who did return from health and safety protocols, but likely won’t return until later in the week for conditioning reasons.

Chris Duarte has officially been cleared from heath and safety protocols as well, but will also likely remain out for this game.

After the loss on Tuesday in New York, head coach Rick Carlisle had this to say on the team’s struggles:

“We made some mistakes, defensively we could really never get a grasp. Randle and Barrett made some difficult shots, but the free-throw line hurt us that’s obvious”.

Although the Pacers were at a loss of depth, Keifer Sykes stepped up big in the point guard role in the loss to the Knicks. He scored a team-high 22 points and made four of his eight three-point shots.

Sykes scored his first NBA basket against the Knicks during the Pacers’ preseason. Last night, he started for the team and nearly helped them to victory. Earlier this year I talked to Sykes about getting this opportunity.

“I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time, but it’s a challenge – I have to perform well and I love the challenge”.

Lance Stephenson will also make his home debut at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in what will be his 301st game in a Pacers uniform. Carlisle also shared his thoughts on his play.

“He showed up three days ago, he’s playing his second game in three days – playing very very well. He is getting more comfortable with what we’re doing and I like his defense”.

He continued, “We challenged him when he got here to really concentrate defensively, use his size and strength to his advantage and he’s done a solid job at keeping guys in front of him”.

Pacers vs Nets Odds, Spread, Over/Under, and Betting Pick

The latest odds from WynnBET (sign up with this link) have the Nets as -8.0 favorites against the Indiana Pacers who have the home-court advantage. Brooklyn stands as a -350 moneyline favorite while Indiana is currently a +275 moneyline underdog.

The over/under for this contest has been set at 213.0, another high-scoring bout in store for both teams. A shootout is anticipated by the oddsmakers.

Projected Pacers Starting Lineup Tonight

PG: Keifer Sykes

SG: Duane Washington Jr.

SF: Justin Holiday

PF:   Myles Turner

C: Domantas Sabonis

Injury Report

Indiana Pacers: Malcolm Brogon –  DOUBTFUL (conditioning), Chris Duarte – DOUBTFUL (conditioning), Jeremy Lamb – DOUBTFUL (conditioning), Isaiah Jackson – Out Health and Safety Protocols, T.J. McConnell – Out Injury/Illness – Right Wrist, T.J. Warren – Out Injury/Illness – Left Navicular; Fracture, Goga Bitadze – Out. Kelan Martin – Out, Torrey Craig – Out

Brooklyn Nets: Aldridge, LaMarcus AVAILABLE Injury/Illness – Right Foot; Soreness
Harris, Joe – Out Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Surgery

Indiana Pacers vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction

The Indiana Pacers are still missing a lot of key players, but that is not necessarily holding them back. With Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, Jeremy Lamb, and Chris Duarte remaining out, the Pacers will need Washington and Sykes to step up again.

They have both shown their ability to score, with Washinton averaging 15.0 points per game and Sykes averaging 14.0 in their last three games. They both seem to be more comfortable after a few games of reps in the starting unit.

The Pacers do have one ace up their sleeve in this contest, and that is Lance Stephenson playing at home in a Pacers uniform.

The Brooklyn Nets are coming to town with the addition of a new player to their roster. His name is Kyrie Irving. The team will only be missing one starter and that is Joe Harris.

Brooklyn is coming off a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, where Kevin Durant had a team-high 26 points. The last time these two teams played, Torrey Craig led the Pacers in scoring off the bench with 28 points.

Craig will not play tonight, so expect to see more of Oshae Brissett and Stephenson as the team will only have 11 active players.

The Pacers will certainly need a repeat of that performance by someone on their bench if they want to have a chance against this star-studded Nets team.

Pacers 100, Nets108

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

What channel is the Indiana Pacers game on?

Wednesday’s contest will air on Bally Sports Indiana (Indianapolis) and will tip off at 7:30 PM ET.

Pacers Next Game and Schedule

The Indiana Pacers will stay home to face the Utah Jazz on Jan. 8 at 7:00 PM ET. The Pacers beat the Jazz earlier this season but were a much healthier team then.

The Jazz are on a hot streak right now and are third in the Western Conference with a record of 27-10. Joe Ingles has entered the league’s Covid protocols and will likely be OUT for the game.

Jan. 10 @ Boston

Jan. 12 vs Boston

Jan. 14 @ Pheonix

Jan. 17 @ LA Clippers

Jan. 19 @ LA Lakers