Today we will see Indiana Pacers hosting Sacramento Kings at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis for their second match-up of the season. The Pacers are surely not happy with their recent showings. Prior to their latest win against Timberwolves, Pacers were on a 3 game losing streak. In the course of those 3 games they failed to win over LA Lakers (108:96), Utah Jazz (109:100) and NY Knicks (103:109). With that in mind they are now 2-3 in the past 5 games. They will hopefully find their rhythm soon, as they seem to have lost it. In the match against Timberwolves, Pacers accumulated a 6 point lead before heading into locker rooms. They were able to hold the lead till the end of the match, with both 3rd (24:24) and 4th (33:33) quarter ending in a tie. To be fair, beating Minnesota at home ground is not easy, so we must give Indiana a “pat on the back” for the well deserved win.
Statistics:
Indiana Pacers; 51.9%FG, 18 turnovers and 7 steals
Minnesota Timberwolves; 44.4%FG, 11 turnovers and 13 steals
Top scorers; Towns (33pts), George (32pts) and Turner (23pts)
Now for the visiting side, Sacramento Kings. Kings are coming from a huge win against Cavaliers. Kings went into that match as a underdog but managed to extend the game into overtime in which they took the win from Cavaliers who are really struggling lately (3 losses in a row). Kings played especially well in 2nd quarter, when they outscored the home side by 10 points (21:31). Despite Cavaliers returning the punch in the next 12 minutes (35:26), it’s still great to see Kings are capable to put up a fight against last year’s champions. In the overtime, Kings won with 4 points to spare (8:12), the final score was 112:116.
Statistics:
Sacramento Kings; 45.3%FG, 11 turnovers and 13 steals
Cleveland Cavaliers; 48.8%FG, 18 turnovers and 9 steals
Top scorers; Cousins (28pts), James (24pts) and Collison (23pts)
Verdict & Prediction
Kings have had 2 great games behind them and they have proven they should not be underestimated by no team in the league. Cavaliers may have underestimated them or maybe the loss was due to their bad form. Nonetheless Kings won a match to be remembered and they sent a strong message to other teams. Indiana is a strong team when playing at home, no doubt about that (10-2), but I don’t think this will be such a easy match for them. Pacers are in a bad form at the moment and are going against a team who is arguably in a good form. In addition to that Kings had a day to rest, whereas Pacers are coming into this match straight from their last fixture. All in all, form and fatigue is not in home side favour tonight. Pick Kings with +5 as it gives good odds and it should be enough for them to win their 3rd consecutive match.
Prediction: Sacramento Kings +5.00 points
Odds: 1.83 Pinnacle
