The Indiana Pacers have not kept pace with the rest of the league, sporting a losing record and only ahead of Detroit in the Central Division. Can Indiana match baskets with Utah?
Indiana wraps up their four-game road trip in Utah, currently at 1-2 and they are in a challenging spot. Having played at Denver last night and losing 101-98 as three-point favorites with Nikola Jokic suspended for a game. The Pacers are presently 4-8 (6-6) and need to kick it into gear.
The Jazz has found the right tempo to charge to the lead of the Northwest Division at 8-3 (7-4 ATS). Utah ended a brief two-game losing streak at home Tuesday, beating Atlanta 110-98 as eight-point home favorites.
The opening betting odds have Utah as 9-point home favorites with a total of 219.5. Let’s crawl inside and look at this matchup.
Thursday, November 11, 2021 – 09:00 PM EST at Vivant Arena
Indiana began the season with too many players in street clothes compared to wearing uniforms and they went 1-6. At various points, Malcolm Brogden, Jerry Lamb, Carl LeVert and Goga Bitadze have all not played. With their return, we are starting to see what the Pacers might be capable of and that could bode well, especially if T.J. Warren can come back sometime in January and even give 20 minutes a game.
Besides coach Rick Carlisle, the two other players most pleased to see their teammates on the floor are Domantas Sabonis and T.J. McConnell, who’s had to shoulder much of the offensive load.
Indiana is 3-2 and 4-1 ATS in their previous five contests and though this is hardly a top-line defensive bunch, having more starters back and placing backup players back in the supporting cast role has aided the defense and made life a little easier for center Myles Turner.
The defense will be tested by Utah’s No. 4 scoring offense.
In the last couple of years, Utah has put up very good numbers against the variety of 29 other teams in the regular season. However, in the playoffs when faced with playing an opponent night after night in a series, they have been exposed. Coach Quin Snyder is trying to change that and develop habits and a style of play that is more conducive to winning in April, May and hopefully June for the Jazz.
Utah has used unique spacing principles to allow them to take a vast amount of three-point shots and they had made a large volume of them and were one of the top clubs in accuracy. Until the postseason.
This year, the Jazz are taking the same volume of threes, but they have gone from the Top 3 in accuracy to the mid-’20s in the NBA. Having seen them a couple of times, it seems it’s a combination of being defended more closely and Utah players just missing.
Yet, the Jazz is still 4th in scoring and third in offensive efficiency because they are getting and making more two-point shots, this places more pressure on opposing defenses as to how to defend Donovan Mitchell and company.
Have to admit, we were caught off guard that Indiana did not play better last night in being dumped by Denver. At the same time, our research finds the Pacers have covered five of six with no rest.
The point spread does seem a bit large which was cause for pause for NBA picks. Then we started digging into the numbers on Utah. The Jazz remains a superb home favorite at 4-0 (3-1 ATS) this season, winning by 12.8 points per game, the third-best margin in the Association in the early going. With Utah 7-1 ATS versus teams with a losing record, a nod to the Jazz.
NBA Picks: Jazz +9 (-110) at Intertops (visit our Intertops Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.