NBA: New York Knicks VS Indiana Pacers Pick and Predictions 12/18/2022

Game: 5:10 PM ET,  Sunday, December 18th, 2022

Venue: Gainbridge Filedhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

TV:  NBA League Pass

Knicks: 16-13, 6th place Eastern Conference

Pacers: 15-15, 9th place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Pacers -1.5, O/U 227.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pacers -1.5, O/U 227.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Pacers -1, O/U 227.5

Knicks: SF RJ Barrett, PF Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson, SG Quentin Grimes, PG Jalen Brunson

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

An NBA Eastern Conference matchup of both historic significance and current relevance.  When you look at NBA history, although it doesn’t 100% correlate, it does seem like when the Knicks are good tha Pacers are good and when the Pacers are bad the Knicks are bad… like they wait for each other to eventually clash in the playoffs. If truth be told when most of us hear Knicks VS Pacers we immediately think of Reggie Miller making the “choking” signal toward Knicks superfan Spike Lee.  We all probably get similar feelings from Miami and Boston… as if they wait for each other.  This season the Knicks are on the upswing with a promising crop of players… and so are the Pacers.  The recent doldrums of lottery odds and last place finishes seem to be washing away in the sands of time… Neither are the best however… that will take a few more years and a bit of luck.  The New York Knicks have found a good backcourt duo in Jalen Brunson and Quenton Grimes… if properly paired with forwards RJ Barrett and Julius Randle… the knicks may finally be on to something.  The Indiana Pacers have found a great mix for the backcourt of the future in PG Tyrese Haliburton and SG Ben Mathurin… add to that guards Andrew Nemhard and Aaron Nesmith and they have a young great rotation at the guard spots… Now what the hell are they supposed to do with SG Buddy Hield,  SG Chrius Duarte, SG TJ McConnel, and SG Kendall Brown… someone call Guinness, the Paces may have set a record for shooting guards on a roster.  This is where odd comes in… The Knicks need to get rid of two forwards soon… SF Evan Fournier and SF/PF Cam Reddish… If the Pacers included a pick with some waivable contracts at SG?... Those guys could be renting places in Indianapolis by mid-January.  The great betting opportunity for this game is found in the numbers and the injury list… let’s take a look.

The New York Knicks are on a 6-game winning streak.  The winning has caused them to rise all the way to 4th in the conference and threaten to go higher.  They won their last game over the Chicago Bulls 114-91.  The Bulls are struggling but it was a quality Knicks win.  It was also the Knicks 6th straight win ATS. In that game SF RJ Barrett had 27 points, SG Quentin Grimes had 22 points, PG Jalen Brunson had 22 points, and PF Julius Randle had 19 points, 12 rebounds.  It was such a dominant performance that 5th starter Center Mitchelll Robinson could take an easy night and check out after 27 minutes.  The Knicks are rolling.

The Indiana Pacers briefly tasted #1 this season when they got off to a great start.  It has been much harder since then.  They have lost 7 of their last 10 games and fallen way back down to earth… in fact 9th place back down to earth.  They lost their last game 118-112 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the loss they team’s unquestioned star Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points, 14 assists… but missed all 8 of his 3-pointers… SG Ben Mathurin came off the bench to add 22 points in 29 minutes, further building his case for both ROY and 6th man awards… he should get one of those… but even with a 12 point, 11 rebound performance from C Myles Turner… the rest of the team kind of wilted against the Cavs as Donovan Mitchell rained 41 points down on them. The Pacers are unbalanced.  That is clear… even if they get 14 points from SF Buddy Hield… that guy is really a SG and playing out of his depth… the defense suffers from every minute Hield is on the floor.  They might want to check on Bogdanovic of the Pistons?… or  Anunoby of the Raptors?.. Or any actual SF available in the league.

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NYK: 16-13, 15-12-2 ATS, 13-16 O/U, 9-6 on the road.

IND: 15-15, 17-13 ATS, O/U 14-15-1, 9-6 in home games.

The Knicks are 12th in scoring with 114.3 points per game, 3rd in rebounds with 47.5 per game, 22nd in AST/To ratio with 1.6, and 22nd in blocks per game with 4.4.

The Pacers are 11th in scoring with 114.9 points per game, 26th in rebounds with 41.9 per game, 12th in AST/TO ratio with 1.7, and 2nd in blocked shots with 6.2

Our prediction for Sunday, December 18th is…. Knicks 109 - Pacers 107

The Pacers will play the Knicks tough at home.  How you bet the game will be entirely determined by the points spread.  Check it closely.  We will update the spread when it is released. Right now the preliminary lines are a Pick ‘em…. Meaning bet on the Knicks.

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Indiana is 36-23 ATS versus the Knicks since 1996.

Indiana is 3-1 ATS versus the Knicks at Indiana the last 3 seasons.

Knicks: SG Quentin Grimes.  Quenton has been paying like a bulldog… hard charging and no fear!  He really is coming into his own with multiple fantastic performances over this recent winning streak.  Keep an eye on him.  Playing next to Jalen Brunson, Grimes is making this one of the toughest backcourts in the league.

Pacers: SG Ben Mathurin.  Ben is the best rookie in the league. Not the most famous, but the best.  He doesn’t have the luxury of playing for Orlando or Detroit where he could get 40 minutes a night to wrack up eye-popping stats, but minute by minute he is the ROY. He may also be the best 6th man in the league.  Hopefully Andrew Nembhard continues contributing at a high level and soon the Pacers can declare themselves winners of the 2022 NBA draft.

Knicks: Tom “I’m a general damnit” Thibodeua

Pacers: Rick “I won a ring” Carlisle