The Indiana Pacers were in action Friday against the Boston Celtics and understandably that didn’t go well for Indiana. Boston took a 120-95 win which dropped Indiana to 33-41 on the season. Now, the Pacers head to Atlanta to take on the Atlanta Hawks who are 36-37 on the season, which is good for eighth in the Eastern Conference.
On Wednesday, the Hawks lost to the Timberwolves, 125-124 and they still haven’t found their footing with new head coach, Quin Snyder. Let’s get into the odds for the Hawks and Pacers with an early tip on Saturday.
Pacers vs. Hawks odds, spread and total
Pacers vs. Hawks prediction and pick
Indiana got Tyrese Haliburton back on the floor yesterday, but it didn’t help their offense as much as expected. Halbiruton had 20 points, 9 assists, and six rebounds, but the Pacers only scored 95 points and only shot 4/26 from three. They also only made 13/22 from the free throw line. Shooting regression will make their offense a lot more effective.
Another thing that’s going to make the Indiana offense more effective is the Atlanta Hawks. They are 22nd in defensive rating in March, that’s even with Quin Snyder’s new identity to the team. The Pacers are 27th in defensive rating over that same stretch.
The Pacers got 20 points from Haliburton and 20 more from Myles Turner, but the rest of their starters, Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard combined for 11. If any of the Pacers wings can hit shots from three or make some free throws then the Pacers will score on Atlanta and we know that Trae Young and the Hawks will do whatever they want on offense against Indiana. Give me the over in this one.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change