Rockets vs. Pacers prediction and odds for Thursday, March 9 (Pacers should roll at home)

The play-in tournament is not out of reach for the Indiana Pacers, who are just two games back of the No. 10 seed in the East heading into Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets.

Houston picked up two wins over the San Antonio Spurs, but it was back to its losing ways on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets. The Rockets have been terrible on the road this season (6-27 straight up), and they are set as massive underdogs against the Pacers.

Indiana’s record has slipped after a fast start to this season, but the Pacers have been competing, upsetting the Chicago Bulls on the road before putting up 143 points in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Houston won’t have guard Kevin Porter Jr. in this game, which will hurt the team’s already struggling offensive attack.

Let’s dive into the odds and a pick for this game:

Rockets vs. Pacers odds, spread and total

Rockets vs. Pacers prediction and pick

The Rockets are downright awful this season as road underdogs, going 10-21 against the spread and losing those games by an average margin of 12.1 points per game.

Even though the Pacers aren’t an Eastern Conference juggernaut, I do think they have the offense to blow out Houston tonight.

On the season, the Pacers rank 18th in offensive rating, 10 spots better than Houston’s No. 28 attack.

The Pacers have also been hot since the All-Star break, scoring over 120 points in five of their six games. That’s a problem for Houston, who has scored less than 115 points in every game it’s played since the break against everyone except the Spurs.

I don’t see Houston’s road struggles going away against a Pacers team that is 6-5 ATS as home favorites. Trust Indiana to win tonight.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.