Denver Nuggets vs. Indiana Pacers NBA Betting Odds
The Indiana Pacers own the NBA’s best record entering their game with the Denver Nuggets, and while they’re going to be the favorites in most matchups the rest of the season, this should be a classic case of offense versus defense. [ad-4468020]
Denver (24-25) at Indiana ()
Monday, Feb. 10 7:00 p.m. ET
Spread: Pacers -10.5
Over/Under: 199.5
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On the year, the Nuggets are scoring five more points per contest than the Pacers.
Luckily for Indiana, it is allowing 13.2 points fewer per game than the Nuggets. Indiana needed overtime to take down a similar team in the Portland Trail Blazers, giving Denver hope that it can pull off a huge upset.
Denver
The Nuggets have a more-than-reliable offense this season, but unfortunately, their defense is worrisome. Look no further than their most recent outing as evidence: A 126-109 loss to the lowly Detroit Pistons.
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On the year, Denver is allowing its opponents to score 103.9 points per game. That’s 28th in the league, and a big problem against the NBA’s elite squads—a.k.a., the Indiana Pacers. Indiana is averaging just 98.8 points per game—20th in the Association—but we saw what it can do against bad defenses this past week. On ESPN, the team put up 118 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, and while it needed overtime to score that many points, it shows how capable the team can be when opposing defenses don’t show up.
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Denver must be willing to lock down Paul George and George Hill, but quite frankly, don’t expect anything close to defensive mastery. This game will come down to how well the Nuggets can score on Indiana’s defense. Denver will look to ride Ty Lawson, the team’s leading scorer, but it must get contributions out of its role players, as the Pacers know how to stymie star players.
Indiana
Unlike the matchup against Portland, Indiana likely won’t get a career high out of George Hill. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, it also won’t likely get a horrible shooting performance from Paul George, giving the Pacers the edge in this one.
Not only does Indiana have the defensive advantage, it also has home-court advantage. The team is a remarkable 24-2 at home, and it is going up against a team that is just 10-14 on the road.
If the Nuggets can find lightning in a bottle, scoring at a high pace with incredible efficiency, this could be a game late like the one we saw between Indiana and Portland. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, Indiana is too good to bet against at this time, as every win for the Pacers is another step toward home-court advantage against the Miami Heat in the playoffs.
Prediction: Indiana 103 – Denver 94
