Only a few games into the NBA season, the 0-2 Philadelphia 76ers will play the 1-1 Indiana Pacers. The Pacers’ home opener will be this game. They just lost to the New York Knicks 123-98 on the road.
The 76ers, meanwhile, have suffered defeats to the Toronto Raptors 115-107 and the Milwaukee Bucks 124-109. The odds for this game were not available at the top PA sportsbooks at the time of this article.
However, I’ll outline some of the initial plots and offer my prediction below.
The 76ers continue to navigate injuries
76ers supporters would have like to watch their incredible three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George play, but that isn’t going to happen. At the moment, Philadelphia is the underdog with a +260 moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Due to knee problems, George and Embiid are not playing. After this road trip, George might return, but for now, he’s gone.
With a starting five that also includes Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin, and Andre Drummond, Maxey will be the offensive leader.
Maxey scored 25 points on the first night of play and then went on to score 24 points versus Toronto.
Oubre Jr. scored 21 points in the season opener, but no other player was able to score more than 13.
Both Maxey and Oubre Jr. scored at least 24 points in the season’s second game.
Teams can only shoot 50% of the time because to the 76ers defense. Allowing that degree of firing will not go well, regardless of who is out there. In the NBA, that is tied for third-worst.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Kelly Oubre Jr. is +420 to make +4 three-pointers.
As a team, they are shooting 40.2% from the field, which ranks them 26th in the NBA.
I’ll presume the 76ers are a little underdog going into this game, and I can see why. In some important criteria, the Pacers are somewhat superior to them, but in others, they are significantly superior (more on that below).
Can the Pacers Three-Point shooting catch up?
As previously stated, teams are permitted to shoot 50% from the field by the 76ers.
After two games, the Pacers are fourth in the NBA with a 50% shooting percentage.
Although the Pacers have been quite good from the field, their main weakness in the first two games has been their three-point shooting.
They are only shooting 19.7% from the field, which is third-worst in the NBA, only surpassed by Denver and Washington.
The 76ers shoot closer to 40%, therefore they might not be able to capitalize on the Pacers’ 47.7% shooting percentage.
Despite all of this, the Pacers’ performance against the Knicks was terrible. Tyrese Haliburton did not score in 26 minutes.
Although the 76ers’ three-point shooting percentage of 28.3% is seventh-worst in the NBA, it is still almost 10% higher.
However, we’ll have to wait and see how the three-point shooting contest plays out. The 76ers shot at 36.7%, while the Pacers let opponents shoot at 35%.
We are aware that the Pacers have good shooting ability overall, but will they be able to get better from three-point range?
They will; they are playing a relatively poor defense in their home opener.
76ers vs. Pacers prediction
I predict that the Pacers will be 4- to 4.5-point favorites at home, albeit the odds are still in.
Although Indiana fell below 100 against the Knicks, the 76ers and Pacers are averaging about the same number of points.
Nevertheless, players like Maxey put on a historically poor performance.
The 76ers defense will enable them to start the three-point shooting game, even if the Pacers are the superior three-point shooting team.
The 76ers are now struggling with injuries to their key players and aren’t shooting very effectively.
I’ll follow the Pacers here. After a very poor start from behind the arch, I believe there will be some positive regression soon.
12 of 61 is the Pacers’ record.
Three players have only hit one, and two haven’t hit one at all:
The Pacers will prevail in this game versus the 76ers.
Even if the odds for this game are unknown to those of us anxious to wager on Pennsylvania sports, I’m willing to pick the Pacers at 4.5 points or less.