Indiana Pacers vs Toronto Raptors Prediction: Expect a high-scoring encounter

Indiana lost their last meeting against Toronto by 40 points, but now the bookmakers even give a slight preference to the Pacers. Will the home team manage to win?

The Pacers have won 3 of their last 5 regular season games and are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference. Four players on the club have scored 18+ points during this stretch: Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and Bennedict Mathurin. Hield and Haliburton are throwing a lot of open three-pointers, made possible by quality combination play. Turner still leads the NBA in average blocked shots and Haliburton is 9th in steals, but Indiana has big problems with defense. The Pacers are only 27th in the league's defensive rating, behind only San Antonio, Houston and Detroit. Chris Duarte could help in his half court and add tenacity at the arc, but he is currently out due to injury. Daniel Theis also remains out of the lineup.

Last regular-season game, Indiana lost at home to Denver, 119-122. Haliburton and Hield combined for only 5 of their 17 three-pointers, with Bennedict Mathurin stepping up as their leading scorer. The Canadian forward made 6 long-range shots and scored 30 points. Haliburton had a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists, and it might be worth noting Isaiah Jackson who was 6 for 7 from the field.

The Toronto Raptors have won 2 of their last 4 games without Pascal Siakam. First Toronto traded wins with Chicago, then defeated Houston by 7 points and then failed on the road against Oklahoma City, 113-122. Fred VanVleet helped make up for the absence of the team's most productive player, averaging 26 points and hitting over 45% of his threes, so the result could have been different. Injuries have been particularly devastating for Toronto, as the Canadian club still lacks a long bench. Fortunately, Otto Porter is back and has added depth, and at least Khem Birch and Precious Achiuwa have someone to replace him. Newcomer Christian Koloko is playing more and more, and in one game he even added six blocked shots.

The Pacers are among the worst in the league in terms of defense at the arc, and that was evident in the game against Denver. If the opponent had made open shots, the difference in the score could have been much bigger. The visitors have good shooters and in particular Gary Trent Jr., who is far from a leadership role on the club, should emerge. Toronto had a hard time defending even against Oklahoma, the loss of Siakam in this regard did not go without a hitch. Our prediction for the Indiana vs Toronto game is as follows:

• TO (228.5) for 1.80;
• W2 (incl. OT) for 2.10;
• H2 (-5.5) for 3.05.

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