Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Prediction: Promising Thunder takes on slumping Pacers

NBA midseason brings to us a bunch of rumors and we can be closing in on some interesting trades with several teams needing depth. With the way things are going, we can see some big names being moved as well and I believe there will be a lot of roster shuffles soon. Anyway, in this game, the Oklahoma City Thunder is going to take on the Indiana Pacers in a cross-Conference affair. 

The Thunder enters the affair beating the Nets 112:102 as Josh Giddey had an electric 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists performance. This was the third straight win for the Thunder which has done well to reach 22 losses and 21 wins. This is a great return for a squad that is inexperienced and fields multiple young players and thanks to heroics of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they are in hunt for a Play-in spot. Apart from providing terrific rebounding and playmaking, Josh Giddey has improved as a scorer. The team’s defense has also improved significantly and things are looking amazing for the Thunder.

The Pacers enter the affair after losing 119:132 against the Bucks despite a 30 points performance by Myles Turner. They have now lost four in a row and after surprising everyone with a strong start, they are currently at 23 wins and 22 losses. The Pacers have missed their 20+ points and 10+ assists provider Tyrese Haliburton who hasn’t featured in the last three games. Still, the young core of elite Haliburton, rookie scorer Mathurin, sharpshooter Buddy Hield, and impressive rookie passer AJ Nembhard paves way for a glorious squad that can both move the ball using multiple playmaking options and some high-scoring options too. 

• Thunder: OUT: Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng, Jeremiah Earl-Robinson, Aleksej Pokusevski. Game-Time Decision: Eugene Omoruyi;
• Pacers: OUT: Tyrese Haliburton, Kendall Brown, Daniel Theis.

The Thunder has been winning against even elite squads now which means that their development has gone on at an unprecedented rate. The Pacers have also been impressive and in fact, more impressive than the Thunder but the injury to Haliburton has decreased their depth. However, they have still run an extraordinary offense through their wealth of passers. This can be a high scorer considering how both squads are raking up points. I back the Thunder to win with a scoreline of 129:122.