Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 12/9/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: Indiana (+4)

The Los Angeles Lakers (14-9) are welcoming the Indiana Pacers (12-8) at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday in the Finals of the In-Season Tournament. Indiana opens this game as 4-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is 237.5.

The Pacers faced the Bucks and walked away with a win by a score of 128-119 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Pacers left the arena with 21 and the Bucks accounted for 17 personal fouls. They buried 12 of 33 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Milwaukee went 75.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 21 of their 28 tries. Moreover, Milwaukee snagged 46 rebounds (12 offensive, 34 defensive) and got 8 blocked shots. Milwaukee doled out 19 assists and had 3 steals in this contest. When talking about the defense, Indiana allowed their opponent to shoot 44.8% from the field on 43 of 96 shooting. They also recorded 30 assists in the game while creating 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. Concerning getting rebounds, they collected 51 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Pacers buried 21 of their 25 tries for a rate of 84.0%. Indiana walked away from the contest with a 49.0% field goal percentage (50 out of 102) and converted 7 of their 33 three-point shots.

Tyrese Haliburton is one guy who was a contributor in the matchup. Haliburton finished the game at 57.9% from the floor and distributed 15 assists. He was on the court for 37 minutes played and also snagged 7 rebounds. He notched 27 points on 11 of 19 shooting.

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Indiana will play this game with a mark of 12-8 so far this year. They currently have an average of 128.4 points per outing (1st in the NBA) while hitting 50.8% from the floor. The Pacers are hitting 38.1% on shots from downtown (296 of 777) and 79.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Indiana is snagging 40.1 boards per game and has totaled 604 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 3rd in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 22.3 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Pacers are forcing their opponents into 14.2 turnovers every game while drawing 19.1 fouls. They are surrendering 38.9% on 3-pointers while they are 29th in the NBA in PPG from their opponents (124.9). The Pacers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 49.9% (915 of 1,832) and they surrender 43.8 boards per game as a team. They rank 4th in the league in giving up assists with 493 relinquished this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Lakers walked away with a victory by a final of 133-89 when they played the Pelicans. When talking about cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles allowed New Orleans to pull down 42 in all (12 offensive). They finished 22.6% from 3-point land via 7 out of 31 and ended up shooting 14 out of 20 from the free throw line (70.0%). The Lakers permitted the Pelicans to convert 34 out of their 95 tries from the floor which had them shooting 35.8% in this matchup. When the game finished, the Lakers finished the game shooting 47 out of 86 from the floor which had them shooting 54.7%. In regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Los Angeles made 17 of their 35 tries (48.6%). They were able to make 22 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.9%. The Pelicans committed 21 fouls for the contest which took the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 29 attempts. They also turned it over 14 times, while recording 6 steals for the matchup. The Lakers were able to corral 48 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 59 for the matchup.

LeBron James was important for the Lakers in this contest. James totaled 30 points in his 23 mins on the court and had 8 dimes for this game. He buried 9 out of 12 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 75.0%, and tallied 5 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a record of 14-9 so far this season. The Lakers commit 17.3 fouls every game and they hit 77.0% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.3 times per contest (10th in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 14.7 times per contest. Los Angeles has 2,602 pts on the campaign (113.1 per game) and they pull in 44.8 boards per contest. As an offense, the Lakers are connecting on 48.4% from the floor, which is ranked 6th in the league.

The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 13th in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 112.0. They are forcing 14.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.3% from the field (7th in the league). The Los Angeles defense allows 36.0% on 3-point attempts (311 of 863) and opponents are converting on 76.8% of their free throw shots. They allow 26.5 dimes and 44.9 rebounds every game, which ranks 19th and 23rd in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-4)

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