In a battle of the No. 4 teams in the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, from last season, the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers will face off in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. Both sides are widely viewed as solid playoff contenders this year, as well.
The Pacers (5-2) are off to a better start in the 2020-21 campaign than the Rockets (2-3), though Houston’s record is dampened by two extremely shorthanded losses to open the season when John Wall, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins, and others were out due to a mandatory quarantine. Since then, Houston has won two of three overall.
The Rockets are still shorthanded to a degree, with expected rotation regulars Danuel House Jr. (back) and Ben McLemore (conditioning issues after self-isolating) not with the team in Indiana. The Pacers will be without TJ Warren (foot) and Jeremy Lamb (knee), among others.
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The Rockets would seem to have slightly more firepower between James Harden, Christian Wood, and Wall, but the Pacers could have an edge inside with size and strength in the form of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Sabonis has been excellent this season, averaging a career-high 20.6 points (56.7% FG), 11.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game.
Indiana won at New Orleans on Monday, 118-116, courtesy of a Malcolm Brogdon game-winner in the closing seconds of overtime. The Rockets lost to Dallas on that same night, with head coach Stephen Silas disappointed in Houston’s stagnant offense — which he said was too isolation heavy. Wednesday offers a chance to quickly make amends.
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The lines, courtesy of BetMGM
- Point spread: Rockets +2.5 (-115), Pacers -2.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Rockets +110/Pacers -135
- Over-under: 226.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
- Player O/U Scoring Props: James Harden 29.5 (-115 O, -110 U), John Wall 19.5 (-115 O, -110 U), Christian Wood 19.5 (-105 O, -120 U); Malcolm Brogdon 20.5 (-115 O, -110 U), Domantas Sabonis 19.5 (-120 O, -105 U), Victor Oladipo 19.5 (-125 O, +100 U)
Place your legal, online sports bets in CO, IN, MI, NV, NJ, PA, TN, and WV at BetMGM.
Advice and prediction
The game appears to be a virtual tossup between two quality teams. While both teams have a few injuries, most of the big names should be in action, and each squad should be fresh after having Tuesday off.
The smartest bet could be for Harden to exceed his over/under total on points. Houston’s superstar guard again leads the NBA with a 33.0 points per game average, but he struggled with 21 points on 5-of-17 shooting (29.4%) in Monday’s loss to Dallas. Typically, he bounces back quickly.
Moreover, Indiana — which has a very similar roster to last season — might be an advantageous matchup for “The Beard.” In two outings versus the Pacers last season, Harden averaged 44.5 points per game on 55.3% shooting from the field (46.4% on 3-pointers).
Prediction: 113-111, Pacers
Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.
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