Indiana Pacers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction: Nuggets to keep winning

Denver has beaten Indiana four games in a row, and now the bookmakers expect the Nuggets to continue their winning streak. Will the Pacers be able to do anything against Nikola Jokic and company?

The Pacers have one of the best defenses in the league in the paint, and getting Myles Turner back in the lineup has only strengthened the team. Turner is also good on offense, something we saw last season when Myles wasn't paired with Domantas Sabonis. On the defensive end, however, Indiana's defense has been stunted, which should come as no surprise. The Pacers are playing rookie Bennedict Mathurin, who isn't nearly as reliable on the outside, and Buddy Hield is far from perfect in that regard. In addition, Chris Duarte and Aaron Nesmith are out due to injuries.

Nevertheless, Rick Carlisle's team had a very good run, winning 4 of their last 5 regular-season games. Now Indiana shares 7th place with New York in the Eastern Conference with 5 wins in 10 games. The day before, Pacers took on New Orleans at home and appeared stronger 129-122. Indiana went on a 7-0 run from the very first minutes, but didn't have enough defense to last the rest of the way and kept letting the Pelicans score more and more open scoring opportunities. Still, the Pacers outscored one of the playoff contenders, and the starting five players made the difference. All of the baseline basketball players scored 15+ points, including Andrew Nembhard, subbing for Chris Duarte. Myles Turner had one of the best performances of his career with 4 three-pointers and 37 points.

The Nuggets have put together arguably their best roster in the last few years, so it's no surprise that they have 7 wins in 10 games to start the season. Now the club from Colorado shares the 2nd place in the Western Conference with Phoenix and Portland. On defense, though, with the addition of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, the Nuggets could play better: perhaps covering the shortcomings of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Nikola Jokic's offensive workload has been significantly reduced, and the Serbian's average output is down 6 points from last season's regular season. But seven Nuggets players are scoring 10+ points per game, including Bones Hyland, who has been insanely efficient. Hyland spends less than 20 minutes on the floor and is hitting 2.9 three-pointers with 13.8 points. Denver doesn't have an injury problem: Zeke Nnaji and Ish Smith, who are in the infirmary, haven't had much of a role in the rotation.

Michael Malone's team defeated San Antonio 115-109 on road in their last game. More than half of Denver's points came from the paint, much to Jokic's credit. The reigning MVP not only completed the attacks himself, but also found partners under the basket and sometimes all you had to do after Nikola's passes was not to miss from a good position. Along with Jokic, Porter Jr. and Murray shot 50% from the field, and Hyland again contributed well from beyond the arc with 3 three-pointers on his team.

The Pacers have an imbalance on defense: everything seems to be OK under the basket, but Indiana's defense is the worst in the NBA right now. Denver can take advantage of that, as they don't have a problem with their shooters: They have Murray, Porter Jr. and Caldwell-Pope. Jokic can cause Indiana a lot more problems in the paint, as Nikola isn't just effective up close to the basket. There is also Aaron Gordon, who was not particularly noticeable against San Antonio, so the Nuggets have plenty of options on offense. Our prediction is as follows:

• TO (235.5) for 1.90;
• H2 (-4.5) for 1.818;
• Nikola Jokic TO (23.5) for 1.87.

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