New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 1/2/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: Fox Sports Indiana

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+8.5)

The Indiana Pacers (4-1) host the New York Knicks (2-3) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday. New York opens this matchup as 8.5-point dogs. The over/under is set at 217.

The New York Knicks took the court against the Toronto Raptors and ended up losing by a score of 100-83 in their last game. New York finished the game having earned a 36.4% field goal percentage (32 of 88) and converted 3 out of their 36 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Knicks buried 16 of their 20 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. In relation to hauling in boards, they earned 48 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 21 assists in this contest in addition to getting 6 steals and 3 blocks. Pertaining to defending, New York allowed their opponent to shoot 41.0% from the floor on 34 out of 83 shooting. Toronto recorded 21 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. Moreover, the Raptors collected 53 rebounds (9 offensive, 44 defensive) and had 6 blocks. Toronto ended up shooting 71.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 21 tries. They converted 17 of 52 attempts from 3-point land.

Julius Randle is someone who came through in this contest. He recorded 16 points on 5 out of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37:39 minutes played and pulled down 10 boards. Randle finished 41.7% from the field and also distributed 5 dimes. Another guy that had an impact in this matchup for the Knicks was Kevin Knox. He pulled down 6 boards and also tallied 2 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 35.7% from the field for the matchup by going 5-of-14 (16 points). Overall, Knox was on the court for 31:30 minutes.

New York enters this contest with a mark of 2-3 for the season. They have an average of 100.8 points per game (30th in the league) while hitting 43.6% from the field. The Knicks are hitting 36.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (53 of 145) and 74.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, New York is pulling down 46.4 boards per game and has earned 115 dimes this year, which ranks 13th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 18.2 times per game and as a squad they are committing 23.0 personal fouls per game. When they are on the defensive end, the Knicks have forced 13.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.6 personal fouls. They are ranked 19th in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 115 surrendered for the year. The Knicks defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 43.3% (67 of 103) and they relinquish 47.4 rebounds per contest as a team. They are conceding 26.7% on 3-pointers and they rank 5th in the league in PPG allowed (105.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Indiana Pacers got the victory with a final of 119-99 when they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers were able to collect 34 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 43 in this contest. They turned away 2 attempts while recording 13 steals in the matchup. The Cavaliers had 22 fouls in the game which got the Pacers to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of them for a percentage of 79.2%. Concerning shots from distance, Indiana buried 16 out of 35 tries (45.7%). In all, the Pacers went 42 for 87 from the field which had them sitting at 48.3%. The Pacers permitted the Cavaliers to bury 37 of their 82 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.1% in this game. They wrapped up this game 52.2% from distance by connecting on 12 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 24 from the free throw line (54.2%). With respect to rebounds, Indiana allowed Cleveland to get 44 in all (12 on the offensive side).

Domantas Sabonis ended up having an impact for the Pacers in this game. He converted 10 of 14 for this contest for a rate of 71.4%, which gave him 25 points. Sabonis collected 11 rebounds in his 37:00 minutes of time on the court and tallied 7 dimes for the contest. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for Indiana was Doug McDermott. He walked away with 18 points in his 25:19 mins on the hardwood by going 6 of 13 from the floor for the contest. McDermott wrapped this one up going 46.2% from the floor in addition to contributing 2 assists and 9 rebounds.

Indiana has a record of 4-1 for the campaign. The Pacers commit 23.4 personal fouls every game and they connect on 73.8% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 28.0 times per game (3rd in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.8 times per game. Indiana has scored 584 points so far this season (116.8 per game) and they average 43.0 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Pacers are shooting 51.1% from the field, which has them ranked 2nd in the league. The Pacers on the defensive end are ranked 6th in the NBA in PPG given up with 107.0. They are able to force 17.4 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.6% from the floor (14th in basketball). The Indiana defense allows 43.0% from downtown (58 of 135) and opponents are connecting on 72.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 22.4 assists and 41.6 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 3rd and 4th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Indiana (-8.5)

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