Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers Free NBA Pick

NBA Pick

NBA Betting Trends

Over the past few weeks the Lakers have exhausted a great deal of energy to work themselves back in the playoff picture in the Western Conference with a 9-2 straight record in their last 11 games, but they will be severely tested to stay in that eighth and final spot after losing Kobe Bryant with an ankle injury in a tough 96-92 road loss to Atlanta as 3.5-point favorites this past Wednesday night. There is no immediate time table for his return, but he is definitely out for Friday night.

With Pau Gasol still on the shelf, Los Angeles will now turn to Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to carry this team in Bryant’s absence. It is ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring with an average of 102.4 points a game, but Kobe’s team-high 27.5 points a game was a huge part of that production. The Lakers will be hard-pressed to turn to a defensive effort to get the job done considering they have allowed an average of 101.2 points this season on that end of the court.

This contest presents a golden opportunity for Indiana to pick-up its fifth win in its last seven games to keep pace in the race for the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference. It is coming off a 107-91 rout of Minnesota this past Wednesday as a 15-point home favorite. The Pacers have gone 26-7 straight-up at home this season and a profitable 20-13 against the spread. The total went OVER the 185-point line against the Timberwolves and it has now gone OVER in four of their last five games.

Indiana is by no means one of the higher scoring teams in the NBA with an average of only 94.2 points a game, but with both Roy Hibbert and David West manning the boards, it leads the NBA in rebounds with 45.6 a game. Paul George joins West in averaging close to 18 points a game while chipping-in another 7.8 rebounds. The primary strength of the Pacers is still on defense where they are holding teams to 89.7 points a game, which is the second-lowest total in the NBA.

Prediction

The current spread in this game could grow even wider if the betting public jumps all over Indiana in Bryant’s absence, but that only makes a play on Los Angeles even more attractive. It is going to be extremely difficult for the Lakers to get out of Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a SU win, but look for the rest of the team to rally just enough to cover with the points.

Indiana 92 Los Angeles 89