Two teams fighting for playoff positioning in different conferences face off when the Indiana Pacers (39-31, 6th in the East) heading west to face the Warriors of the Golden State (36-32, 10th in the West). The Pacers are coming off a road win with a 122-103 performance in Detroit, ranking as 11.5-point favorites. The Warriors are also coming off a win, beating the Grizzlies 137-116, easily covering the 11.5-point spread as favorites. This is the second and final matchup between these teams this season, with the Warriors winning the first matchup by 22 on the road in February. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. EST from the Chase Center in San Francisco.
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Hold on to the sixth
The Indiana Pacers are currently 6th in the East, but it’s a tight race between teams all hoping to avoid the Play-In Tournament. Indiana is only a half-game ahead of the 76ers and Heat who are both behind them in the standings. Orlando is trying to stand out from the group, since it occupies 5th place, with 2.5 games ahead of the Pacers. Indiana comes into this game coming off an easy win over the Pistons, led by Pascal Siakam with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Siakam has surpassed Tyrese Haliburton as the team’s leading scorer, as Siakam is now averaging 20.7 PPG in his 29 games with the team. He also gets 7.6 RPG and 4.1 APG, and has scored 19 or more in each of his last three games. Haliburton is still the Pacers’ biggest star, getting 20.4 PPG and leading the NBA with 11.2 APG. He’s been in a shooting slump recently, shooting just 6-33 (18.2%) from three over his last five games. Myles Turner is a reliable player for the Pacers, he averages 17.0 PPG and 6.9 RPG, and can stretch defenses with his outside shooting. Over the past few games, the Pacers have picked Aaron Nesmith (12.4 PPG) and Andrew Nembhard (8.9 PPG) to fill out the starting lineup.
Isaiah Jackson, TJ McConnell and Ben Sheppard have played the most minutes off the bench recently. Jackson just had a double-double coming off the bench against Detroit, where he collected 10 points and 11 rebounds. Indiana ranks 2nd in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency according to dunksandtrois.com. They play at the 2nd fastest pace in the league.
Injury Report:
Questionable: Obi Toppin
Absent: Bennedict Mathurin
300 three, five times
Steph Curry is coming off a game where he made his 300th three-pointer of the season, marking the fifth time he’s done that in his career. For reference, only two other players have achieved this feat, Klay Thompson did it once and James Harden did it once. Curry is the best shooter the NBA has ever seen, but he’s still trying to knock the Warriors out of 10th place in the West. Golden State is coming off a win, as they were led by Jonathan Kuminga with 26 points in the win over Memphis.
The Golden State Warriors are currently at full strength, with a clean sheet of injuries. Curry is their leading scorer at 26.8 PPG and is making 4.9 threes per game on 40.5% shooting from deep. Klay Thompson has been coming off the bench lately, but has still been productive, as he is second on the team with 17.3 PPG. Thompson has scored 18 or more points in his last three games, including a 26-point game in a win over the Lakers. Jonathan Kuminga continues to improve, he is averaging 16.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG, his previous career high for a season was 9.9 PPG. Brandin Podziemski continues to start at both and averages 9.4 PPG, while Andrew Wiggins starts at small forward and gets 12.7 PPG.
Draymond Green’s numbers are down, but he remains a vital part of this team and gets 8.8 PPG and 7.3 RPG. Chris Paul is finally healthy and playing solid minutes as a point guard off the bench, he had 14 assists in just 24 minutes of action last time out. The Warriors rank 8th in offensive efficiency and 17th in defensive efficiency. They play at the 11th fastest pace in the league.
Injury Report: None listed.
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Rating:
The Warriors have struggled with injuries and roster changes throughout the season, but appear to have finally gotten healthy and have fallen into a rhythm here. Chris Paul is back, and he has just had a game with 14 assists and 0 turnovers coming off the bench. Klay Thompson has also adapted to coming off the bench, as his scoring level gradually rises, as he has scored 19 or more in each of his last three. The Warriors are fighting for the top playoff seed in the hotly contested Western Conference and need to take advantage of home games when their team is at full strength. Indiana has been in a bit of a bad situation lately, and it started with its star player, Tyrese Haliburton. He’s only shot 18% from three in his last five games, and they can’t expect to go to Golden State and put up a good performance if their best player isn’t playing well. The Warriors have been playing small ball lately, but Myles Turner is scoring more from the perimeter than inside, so the matchup shouldn’t be awkward for Draymond. The Warriors are home and healthy, they’ll get a win against a team with a struggling superstar.
Take the warriors to cover.
Prediction: Warriors -4.5
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Rating:
The Warriors have gone over the total in their last three games and scored just 137 in their last outing. They will be able to put up big numbers against this weak Indiana defense. The Pacers are all offensive, they are only 25th in defensive efficiency, and will not be able to compete well with this Warrior team who will space the floor with shooters. The Pacers try to fill their defensive gaps by playing fast on offense and trying to outscore the opponent. The Pacers are 2nd in tempo, and 2nd in offensive efficiency, they play fast and score at a high rate, while giving up too many buckets on the other end. The Pacer’s offensive possessions are also the 2nd fastest in the league, and the Warriors also play fast with their motion offense. Both teams rank better offensively than defensively and are in the top half of the league in terms of tempo. The over is the smart play.
Take over.
Prediction: Over 237
