Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/1/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, March 1, 2024

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Smoothie King Center is where the New Orleans Pelicans (35-25) will try to beat the Indiana Pacers (34-26) on Friday.

The Pacers played the Pelicans and notched a win by a score of 123-114 in their last game. Indiana wrapped up the game having earned a 49.0% FG percentage (50 out of 102) and converted 14 of their 38 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Pacers buried 9 of 9 attempts for a percentage of 100.0%. In regard to rebounding, they earned 50 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 34 dimes in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Regarding the defense, Indiana allowed 46.7% from the field on 42 out of 90 shooting. New Orleans earned 26 assists and had 2 steals for the matchup. Additionally, New Orleans grabbed 40 rebounds (7 offensive, 33 defensive) and added 9 rejections. New Orleans finished the game at 82.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 19 of their 23 tries. They also converted 11 out of their 29 shots from 3-point land. Regarding fouls, the Pacers ended up finishing with 21 while the Pelicans recorded 12 fouls.

Pascal Siakam is someone who was a major contributor in this game. Siakam ended up going 61.1% from the floor and distributed 5 dimes. He saw the court for 33 mins played and snagged 11 boards. He ended up scoring 24 points on 11 of 18 shooting.

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Indiana will take the court with a win-loss mark of 34-26 so far this year. They are averaging 123.9 points per contest (1st in the league) while going 50.8% from the field. The Pacers are shooting 38.0% on 3-pointers (817 of 2,149) and 78.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Indiana is grabbing 41.0 boards per game and has 1,865 dimes on the year, which is 1st in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 13.4 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 21.7 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Pacers have forced 14.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.5% on 3-point shots while they are 28th in basketball in opponents PPG (122.0). The Pacers defense is allowing a FG percentage of 50.4% (2,713 of 5,387) and they surrender 42.9 rebounds per game as a group. They are 7th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,493 relinquished this year.

In their last game, the Pelicans went home defeated by a final of 123-114 against the Pacers. The Pelicans were able to collect 33 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 40 for the contest. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while recording 2 steals in this game. The Pacers committed 21 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 23 tries. They were able to make 19 of the free throws for a clip of 82.6%. In reference to shots from downtown, New Orleans converted 11 of their 29 attempts (37.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Pelicans shot 42 out of 90 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.7%. The Pelicans allowed the Pacers to knock down 50 out of 102 attempts from the field which left them shooting 49.0% in this matchup. They went 36.8% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 14 of 38 and ended up shooting 9 out of 9 at the free throw line (100.0%). When it comes to rebounding, New Orleans permitted Indiana to pull down 50 in total (14 offensive).

Brandon Ingram ended up being important for the Pelicans in this matchup. Ingram recorded 30 points in his 29 mins of playing time and accounted for 4 assists in this matchup. He converted 8 of 20 in the matchup for a rate of 40.0%, and added 6 rebounds.

New Orleans has a record of 35-25 so far this season. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 19.1 personal fouls every game and they go 76.5% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 27.0 times per game (12th in basketball) and they cough up possession 13.3 times per contest. New Orleans has tallied 6,962 points so far this year (116.0 per contest) and they grab 44.4 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans are shooting 48.6% from the field, which has them ranked 9th in basketball.

The Pelicans are ranked 8th in the NBA in points allowed per contest with 111.9. They have forced 14.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the field (6th in the NBA). The New Orleans defense allows 34.7% on shots from beyond the arc (807 of 2,329) and opponents are making 78.4% of their foul shots. They have given up 27.0 assists and 42.4 boards every game, which ranks them 19th and 8th in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Indiana

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