NBA: Charlotte Hornets VS Indiana Pacers Pick and Predictions 01/08/2023

Game: 5:10 PM ET,  Sunday, January 8th, 2023

Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

TV:  NBA League Pass

Hornets: 11-29, 14th place Eastern Conference

Pacers: 22-18, 7th place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pacers -5.5, O/U 239.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pacers -5, O/U 239

Fanduel: Point Spread: Pacers -5.5, O/U 239

Hornets: SF Jalen McDaniels, PF PJ Washington, C Mason Plumlee, PG LaMelo Ball, SG Terry Rozier

Pacers: PF Aaron Nesmith, SF Buddy Hield, C Myles Turner, PG Tyrese Haliburton, SG Andrew Nembhard

An Eastern Conference NBA matchup between the hopeless and the hopeful.  Both teams have a roster dominated by a young, potential super star at point guard.  Yet neither team is a fully rounded roster that can actually contend for a title.  The Charlotte Hornets led the league in scoring last season as they finished far outside of the playoff picture… even far out of the “play-in” game… This year is worse.  The Hornets suffered an injury to LaMelo Ball that kept him out for a long stretch… AND they suffered the “probably permanent” loss of their leading scorer PF/SF Mile Bridges who was arrested on felony domestic assault charges and may never taste the league again.  A bad team got drastically worse and are now suffering through 2nd to LAST in the standings in the East… and close to last in the league.  The Pacers are fainting much better than last season.  They traded their former star PF/C Domantas Sabonis for PG/SG Tyrese Haliburton, other players and picks with the Kings… had it been a straight up trade it would now be declared even… but since the trade included those other pieces?... The Pacers clearly won.  Haliburton is a superstar… He is very much like Chris Paul in that he can score BIG.. while dishing assists at a very high level.  Haliburton will be an All-star soon and given health will stay there for years to come.  That leads to the problem Indiana faces… at 7th place in the East and just a couple games shy of the halfway point of the season… They are far out of tanking for Victor Wembanyama and still without a really capable roster for contending.  They NEED a TRADE NOW.  The roster has 8 guys who are shooting guards… and ZERO guys who are natural small forwards.  The Pacers also have 3 late (if the draft happened today) first round draft picks in the coming draft.  Using them would be suicide… It would make one of the youngest teams in the league loaded with 3 super young, potential superstar guards even younger!  They need to trade any combination of SG Buddy Hield, SG Chris Duarte, SG TJ McConnell, SG Kendall Brown, SG Aaron Nesmith… and any combination of ALL THREE of the coming picks to land a star small forward, and a veteran, capable power forward.  They can’t even pretend to be a contender with 8 Shooting guards and no real small forwards on the roster.

The Charlotte Hornets snapped a 3-game losing streak by blowing out the Milwaukee Bucks 138 to 109.  The Hornets got a monster game out of SG Terry Rozier who dropped 39 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists as he shot the ball 29 times in 34 minutes! PG LaMelo Ball did what he does which is push the tempo and try to outscore the world… he had 24 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds.  The game got so out of control that the Bucks pulled Giannis after 22 minutes and 9 points.  The Bucks had no chance after the Hornets scored a team record 51 points in the FIRST QUARTER!  That is what the Hornets are capable of doing… with so many shooters and finesse players… what they are not capable of doing is playing defense.  So if the Hornets get off to a great shooting percentage they can beat anyone.. But if they do not?... They take losses easily.  That has led to an embarrassing 11-29 record with 11 teams muttering “what the hell just happened?”

The Indiana Pacers have won 7 of their last 10 games. In their last game they beat Portland 108-99… They have also gone 8-2 ATS during the ten game stretch with an active 6 game win ATS streak.  Indiana has the best collection of young guards in the league surrounding Center Myles Turner who is very capable himself.  On the Portland win Myles Turner had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in 27 minutes. No Pacers player broke 20 points but 6 were in double figures.  Controlling the game PG Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and 12 assists to go with 4 rebounds.  These numbers are so remarkable because he is a REAL defensive stopper.  Super rookie SG Ben Mathurin, who is a real ROY candidate because he is doing it from the bench… led the team with 19 points in 21 minutes… He should be rookie of the year since he is doing his damage as a winning team’s 6th man… not as a starter on a losing team that has the greenlight to shoot on every possession. The voters should take notice, the league should take notice.  

Asa Inc is 17-8 in NBA picks the last 7 days for a profit of $8,050!! You should be following a handicapper all season long! Get Asa Inc’s picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. BigAl.com can help you with all your bets from NCAAF, NFL, MLB, NHL… get positive value from all your bets! Remember: winning a bet is way more fun than making a bet!

CHA: 11-29, 17-20-3 ATS, 20-19-1 O/U, 6-15 on the road.

IND: 22-18, 25-15 ATS, 19-20-1 O/U, 14-7 in home games.

The Hornets are 22nd in the league in scoring with 112 points per game, 5th in rebounds with 45.8 per game, 7th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8 per game, and 11th in blocks per game with 5.0.

The Pacers are 10th in the league in scoring with 115.6 points per game, 25th in rebounds with 42 per game, 12th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 3rd in blocked shots with 5.8 per game.

Our prediction for Sunday, January 8th is…. Pacers 121 - Hornets 107

Bet on the Pacers.  The Hornets kryptonite is defense; they neither play it nor like to go against it… that is why the Hornets push the tempo constantly.  The thing with the guards of the Pacers is they can score and they can hold their own on defense.  That leaves the Hornets with a big problem since they rely on Ball and Rozier (both guards) to score and push… Indiana has the 2-way guard bodies to destroy the Hornets game plan.  

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Hornets/Pacers Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this  preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Charlotte is 3-1 ATS against Indiana in Indiana the last 3 seasons.

Charlotte is 1-5 ATS versus Central division opponents this season.

The Pacers are 14-7 ATS in home games this season.

The Pacers are 25-15 ATS in all games this season.

Hornets: PG LaMelo Ball.  LaMelo is doing what he does… he scores and assists.  Since his return from injury the Hornets have made a major uptick in scoring… they will climb the ladder of scoring behind LaMelo… but can he stop anyone on the other end?

Pacers:  Tyrese Haliburton.  Tyrese is a much less famous player than LaMelo… but he is also better.  Tyrese plays both ends.  Tyrese will be the gold standard for point guards in this league very soon.  Watch him now and tell a friend.

  

Hornets: Steve “yay! I’m in the league still” Clifford

Pacers: Rick “Get me a Small Forward!” Carlisle