Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 3/31/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Friday, March 31, 2023

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: Bally Sports Indiana

The Oklahoma City Thunder are en route to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday where they will play the Indiana Pacers.

The Thunder took the court against the Pistons and took home the win by a score of 107-106 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Thunder walked away with 18 while the Pistons recorded 22 personal fouls. They knocked down 16 out of their 33 attempts from three-point range. Detroit finished 71.4% from the free throw line by converting 10 of their 14 attempts. Furthermore, Detroit had 42 rebounds (10 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Detroit earned 27 dimes and had 1 steal for the matchup. When it comes to the defense, Oklahoma City allowed 50.0% from the field on 40 out of 80 shooting. They also recorded 19 assists in the matchup in addition to creating 17 turnovers and having 7 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 38 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Thunder converted 19 of 25 shots for a rate of 76.0%. Oklahoma City finished the game with a 44.8% FG percentage (39 of 87) and knocked down 10 out of their 29 3-pointers.

Jalen Williams is a player who came through in the game. He ended up scoring 27 points on 11 of 19 shooting. He saw the court for 37 minutes and also pulled down 8 boards. Williams finished shooting 57.9% from the floor and totaled 6 dimes.

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Oklahoma City steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 38-39 for the year. They turn it over 13.1 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 21.0 personal fouls every game. As a team, Oklahoma City is pulling in 43.6 boards per game and has accounted for 1,878 assists for the campaign, which is 20th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Thunder are shooting 35.9% on shots from distance (942 of 2,622) and 80.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 117.5 points per contest (5th in the NBA) while shooting 46.6% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 16.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.3 fouls. They are currently ranked 24th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,991 conceded for the season. The Thunder are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.3% (3,218 of 6,803) and they surrender 46.6 boards per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 36.2% on three-point shots and they are 20th in the NBA in opponents points per game (116.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Pacers took a loss by a final score of 149-136 against the Bucks. The Pacers were able to pull down 19 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 8 times, while getting 9 steals for the matchup. The Bucks committed 18 fouls in the matchup which got the Pacers to the free throw line for 22 tries. They were able to make 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 72.7%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Indiana made 14 of their 30 attempts (46.7%). Overall, the Pacers shot 53 out of 101 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.5%. The Pacers allowed the Bucks to convert 58 of their 93 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 62.4% in this matchup. They shot 40.0% from beyond the arc by connecting on 10 of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 30 at the charity stripe (76.7%). In reference to how they attacked the glass, Indiana allowed Milwaukee to grab 52 overall (14 offensive).

Bennedict Mathurin was important for the Pacers in this game. Mathurin earned 29 points in his 41 mins on the hardwood and accumulated 2 dimes for this contest. He made 11 of 21 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 52.4%, and accumulated 9 rebounds.

Indiana has a win-loss mark of 33-44 for the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pacers are hitting on 46.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 22nd in the league. Indiana has accounted for 8,924 points on the campaign (115.9 per game) and they snag 41.4 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 26.8 times per game (6th in the league) and they are giving up possession 14.8 times per game. The Pacers are committing 21.2 personal fouls per contest and they go 79.1% from the free throw line.

The Pacers defensively are ranked 29th in basketball in PPG given up with 119.1. They are forcing their opponents into 15.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 48.4% from the floor (23rd in the NBA). The Indiana defense allows 37.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (960 of 2,562) and their opponents are making 80.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 26.4 assists and 45.2 total boards per game, which is ranked 27th and 28th in basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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