NBA: Indiana Pacers VS Portland Trail Blazers Pick and Predictions 12/04/2022

Game: 9:10 PM ET,  Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Venue: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

TV: NBA TV

Pacers: 12-10, 5th place Eastern Conference

Blazers: 12-11, 9th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Pacers -2.5, 232.5 O/U

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pacers -3, 232.5 O/U

Fanduel: Point Spread: Pacers -2.5, 232.5 O/U

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

Trail Blazers: SF Trenton Watford, PF Jerami Grant, C Jusuf Nurkic, PG Anfernee Simons, SG Justise Winslow

An inter-conference battle between two teams that are very similar:  Lots of young guys, recently traded away stars, and doing better than most people thought they would during this rebuild.  The Indiana Pacers are doing so well at the moment it feels like no rebuild is happening at all.  They got rid of star player C/PF Domantas Sabonis last season… and in return they got a new star player in PG/SG Tyrese Haliburton PLUS some other players and picks.  The Pacers have clearly won that trade.  The Kings are doing fine in the West… but the Pacers got the better player for the future PLUS assets for the trading and drafting blocks.  The Portland Trail Blazers are in 9th place… but the West is so bottled up at the moment that just 2 wins or losses could throw this team anywhere from 4th place to 12th place depending on the other teams during that same stretch.  So we don’t know what the Blazers (who briefly tasted 1st place very early in the season) will eventually be.  We do know that last season they traded away SG CJ McCollum who made an immediate impact on the Pelicans during last year’s playoffs… They now have a roster loaded with odd combinations of young talent and useful players… They are still led by PG Damian Lilliard… though Damian is again missing time with soreness in that tough abdomen injury.  In his absence PF Jerami Grant has been playing like a star and team leader… When Damian plays?... They could be a very tough out.  When he doesn’t?... They could be a very easy night.

The Indiana Pacers have lost their last 2 games.. Against Utah 139-119 and the Kings 137-114.. Both those teams have been playing very well this season and both are at the tippy-top of team scoring averages…. And that is ultimately the problem with Indiana… while very good on offense with a very good young leader in Haliburton… They aren’t very good at defense yet.  In the loss to Utah 7 Pacers scored in double figures… but all of the Pacers had a negative number on the +/- scale.  A real positive sign for the Pacers is that former Gonzaga star SG/PG Andrew Nembhard is on the rise… he landed 13 points with 10 assists… If this growth keeps up the combination of Nembhard and Haliburton will soon be one of the best backcourts in the league. The key problem on defense is SF Buddy Hield in the starting lineup… Buddy is a good shooter but also a defensive liability especially against bigger Small Forwards as Buddy is really meant to be a SG/6th man.  It may be time to start using super sub SG Benjamin Mathurin at the SF spot in the starting lineup?  Benjamin is a rookie, but has been playing lights out with a 17 ppg, 4 rbs average over the last 10 games!  

The Portland Trail Blazers snapped a 3-game losing streak by beating the same Utah Jazz that the Pacers got blown out by. The final score of 116-111 was also an upset win ATS for the Blazers. It coincided with a sudden explosion of production from young SG/PG Anfernee Simons… 45 points, 15 of 25 shooting,  7 of 12 from beyond the arc, 8 of 8 at the foul line! Big game… the sort of game that CJ McCollum occasionally had for the Blazers… PF Jerami Grant had Anfernee’s back too with 33 points, 5 assists… but bizarrely 0 rebounds. When two guys combine for 78 points while your star PG is missing games to injury?... The team is usually on the right track.

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IND: 12-10, 13-9 ATS, 11-11 O/U, 5-6 in road games.

POR: 12-11, 14-9 ATS, 9-13-1 O/U, 4-5 in home games.

Tha Pacers are 8th in scoring with 115.8 ppg, 14th in rebounds with 43.3 per game, 9th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 2nd in blocked shots with 6.5 per game.

The Blazers are 23rd in scoring with 110 ppg, 19th in rebounds with 43.1 per game, 26th in AST/TO ratio with 1.5, and 24th in blocked shots with 4.2 per game.

Our prediction for Sunday, December 4th is….  Pacers 127 - Blazers 116

Bet on the Pacers.  The guard combo for Indiana seems really capable of stopping Simons and exploiting Winslow.  It is that simple.  The home court advantage does not favor Portland as they have yet to prove an ability to win ATS at home.

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The Pacers are 41 OVER and 16 UNDER when the total is 230 or greater the last 3 seasons.

The Blazers are 0-2 ATS at home when the line is +3 to -3 this season.

Pacers: SG Benjamin Mathurin.  A lot will be made of Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers, and deservedly so… but with every game Ben is looking like the new NBA super sub… he has the same sort of impact as “the microwave” had for the Pistons all those years ago.  Ben is proving over and over that the Pacers have the guard spots wrapped up with Nembhard, Haliburton, and Mathurin… after that they really really need a true small forward to make this team sing!

Blazers: PF Jerami Grant.  Grant is the real deal on offense.  Active and athletic Grant can post some real numbers… It is odd to think he has been in the NBA for almost a decade… floating through the 76ers, Thunder, Nuggets, Piston, and now Blazers… Each stop he improved a bit.  It would be nice if that improvement was also on the defensive end… but for the next few years he will be a nice 2nd option on a good Blazers squad.

Pacers: Rick “Jim Carrey impressionist” Carlisle

Blazers: Chauncey “all that swagger” Billups