Denver Nuggets vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 3/4/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: Fox Sports Indiana

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (-2.5)

The Denver Nuggets (20-15) travel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday where they'll meet the Indiana Pacers (15-18). Denver opens this contest as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 225.5.

The Denver Nuggets stepped onto the hardwood against the Milwaukee Bucks and took home the win by a score of 128-97 in their last contest. Denver finished the contest with a 55.8% FG percentage (53 of 95) and made 11 of 30 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Nuggets knocked down 11 of their 12 tries for a percentage of 91.7%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 45 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 28 dimes for this game as well as forcing 13 turnovers and earning 10 steals. When talking about the defense, Denver allowed the other team to shoot 40.5% from the field on 32 out of 79 shooting. Milwaukee doled out 22 assists and had 4 steals for the game. In addition, Milwaukee totaled 40 rebounds (11 offensive, 29 defensive) and got 4 blocks. Milwaukee finished the game shooting 71.0% from the charity stripe by converting 22 of 31 shots. They buried 11 of their 40 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Nikola Jokic is a guy who was a major factor for the matchup. He walked away with 37 points on 15 out of 23 shooting. He saw the court for 36:24 mins played and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Jokic went 65.2% from the floor and dished out 11 dimes. One more player that was a determining factor in this contest for the Nuggets was Jamal Murray. He pulled down 3 rebounds in 37:59 min played on the night. He finished the contest at 58.8% from the floor in this matchup by going 10-of-17 (24 points). When the game finished, Murray collected 6 assists.

Denver heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 20-15 for the season. They are averaging 115.9 pts per game (4th in basketball) while going 48.6% from the field. The Nuggets are connecting on 38.6% on shots from distance (467 of 1,210) and 78.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Denver is pulling in 43.8 rebounds per contest and has totaled 922 assists so far this year, which is 3rd in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 19.5 personal fouls per contest. Defensively, the Nuggets are forcing their opponents into 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.4 fouls. The Nuggets defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 46.9% (502 of 714) and they surrender 42.1 rebounds per contest as a unit. They currently rank 28th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 926 conceded on the year. They are conceding 35.4% on 3-point attempts and they rank 10th in the league in points per game allowed (110.8).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Indiana Pacers took a defeat with a final score of 130-114 against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Pacers collected 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 34 for this game. They also gave up possession 19 times, while earning 8 steals in this matchup. The 76ers earned 19 personal fouls for the contest which got the Pacers to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to convert 18 of them for a rate of 85.7%. When discussing shooting from beyond the arc, Indiana made 8 out of 29 tries (27.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Pacers went 44 out of 91 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.4%. The Pacers permitted the 76ers to convert 50 out of 88 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 56.8% in this game. They finished 42.9% from 3-point land by shooting 15 out of 35 and finished the game at 15 out of 16 from the charity stripe (93.8%). In the matter of how they cleaned up the glass, Indiana allowed Philadelphia to pull down 39 in total (6 offensive).

Malcolm Brogdon ended up having an impact for the Pacers for this contest. He made 9 out of 17 in this contest giving him a rate of 52.9%, and totaled 4 rebounds. Brogdon earned 20 points in his 29:05 minutes of playing time and had 4 assists for the game. Another guy that was pivotal for Indiana was Domantas Sabonis. He ended up with 7 dimes in his 33:55 mins on the court, and he shot 6 out of 12 from the floor. Sabonis walked away from this one going 50.0% from the field while contributing 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Indiana has a win-loss mark of 15-18 on the campaign. As an offensive unit, the Pacers are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 11th in basketball. Indiana has 3,730 pts on the campaign (113.0 per game) and they grab 42.2 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 26.6 times per game (6th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest. The Pacers are responsible for committing 20.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 78.6% from the charity stripe. The Pacers on the defensive side of the court are 20th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 112.6. They have relinquished 25.7 assists and 44.8 rebounds every game, which ranks them 24th and 19th in the league. The Indiana defense allows 37.9% on 3-point shots (402 of 1,060) and opponents are knocking down 79.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 15.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor (13th in basketball).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Indiana (+2.5) and over 225.5 points

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