The Indiana Pacers have shaken things up with a new direction for the future, and it’s created some excitement around the team. Will it translate to a win against the Milwaukee Bucks when they visit at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday? Not likely.
Indiana traded away Domantas Sabonis in a package that landed them Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield. A more guard-heavy look instead of playing two bigs with Myles Turner fits the current NBA a bit better, with some exceptions.
But fans won’t see that as Turner, Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, and Ricky Rubio are out for an extended period of time. Rookie guard Chris Duarte is also out for Tuesday’s game with a toe injury.
Milwaukee is relatively healthy, but the one status to watch is Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable with an ankle injury. If he’s out, grabbing the Pacers before a line adjustment would be critical.
The spread on the game opened at Milwaukee -12 and has since grown by a half-point to Milwaukee -12.5 as of this writing. The over/under opened at 232 and has grown to 234 as of this writing.
Milwaukee Bucks Betting Preview
The Bucks (35-23) are 2 ½ games out of the East’s top seed with four teams ahead of them. This is a game they can’t afford to lose against a very short-handed Pacers team, which is what happened Monday against Portland as 11.5-point favorites. However, Antetokounmpo was out for that contest.
Milwaukee is sixth in scoring this season at 112.8 points per game, and taking their leading scorer out (Antetokounmpo) means 29 points per contest have to be accounted for. They are capable with Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday healthy again. But the defense is average (16th) and likely drops off without Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks are 19-10 at home this season, 26-32 against the spread, and 28-30 on over/unders.
Indiana Pacers Betting Preview
Haliburton has scored 22 and 23 points in his first two games as a Pacer. He had 23, 16 assists, and five rebounds against Minnesota on Sunday. All eyes will be on him as a limited roster due to injuries leaves him as the key guard in the rotation.
Hield has also been a factor rebounding with nine and eight in his first two Pacers games. In his first game, he was 4-for-10 shooting on 3s and followed that up with a 1-for-13 showing. He also had eight assists in his first game and then one on Sunday. So it’s unsure what kind of consistency he’ll bring.
Indiana’s struggles have come on the defensive end. They’re 23rd in defensive scoring, allowing 111.7 points per game, and have surrendered the fifth-worst shooting percentage at 47.2%.
The Pacers (19-39) are 6-22 away from home. For the season, they are 25-30-3 against the spread and 31-26-1 on over/unders.
Betting Prediction
Both teams are league average or worse defensively, which means points are to be had, and the line moving that way may be an indicator of what Vegas thinks. It would be interesting to see Buddy Hield’s rebounding props since he’s punching above his 4.2-per-game average so far.
Other than Antetokounmpo’s injury status, which he’s expected to play after sitting Monday night, there isn’t much else that could swing the line unless a surprise from one of the Pacers’ bigger name players is active.
Prediction: Bucks -12.5
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