Vegas Line at this writing: Washington -3.5 (193)
Much like Tuesday’s preview of Miami at Milwaukee, tonight we feature another key matchup in the bottom half of the NBA Eastern Conference playoff race as the Indiana Pacers take of the Washington Wizards. The 30-40 Pacers made a strong run from nowhere to challenge for a playoff spots but have lost six straight after seven game winning streak that came to an end March 12th. The Pacers are now 10th in the East but just two game back of Miami for 7th and a game back of Boston for the 8th and final spot in the East. The Wizards were one of the first half surprises in the NBA before hitting a swoon that saw the team mired in a 4-13 straight up run. Washington righted the ship with five straight wins but after a win in Utah, lost the last three games of their West Coast swing. The Wizards are currently anchored in 5th place, two games back of Toronto for the final home court in the East.
These two are not strangers having met 15 times over the last three years including the Pacers 4-2 win over the Wiz in last year’s playoffs. Indiana owns a 9-6 straight up edge with the Wiz 8-7 ATS. The Pacers are 4-3 (5-2 ATS) on this court. The teams have met twice this year but not since early November with the teams splitting a home-and-home with the visitor winning both games. Washington is 3-6 as a road dog in its L9n while the Pacers are 1-5 ATS in L6 overall. The Over is 6-2 in the Pacers L8 after a run of seven straight Unders. The Under went 3-1 on the Wiz four game West Coast swing with the team averaging 89 ppg.
Indiana:
The Pacers have very balanced scoring with eight players averaging between 15.2 and 8.2 ppg. Indiana gets most of its scoring out of its back court with George Hill (15.2, 3.7, 4.5) and C.J. Miles (12.3, 2.2, 1.9). Third guard Rodney Stuckey (12.9, 3.3, 3.5) has been bothered by a calf injury and is questionable here. David West (11.9, 6.9) and Roy Hibbert (10.9, 7.1) are still the backbone of the front court with veteran Luis Scola (9.4, 6.4) the constant off the bench. The Pacers make their bones on the defensive end and are now third in the league in points against at 97.0 per game.
Washington:
The Wiz also feature a top young backcourt combo in John Wall (17.9. 4.6, 9.9) and Bradley Beal (14.8, 3.2, 3.8). Beal was hurt for a good portion of the Wiz slump but is back at 100% and is averaging 16.1 ppg. over his last five. Paul Pierce is still contributing 12.6/4.0 in about 27 minutes a game. Marcin Gortat (11.9, 8.6) Nene (11.2, 5.1) and Kris Humphries (8.1, 6.7) provide one of the most experienced and versatile front courts in the NBA. Humphries is nursing a groin injury and is also questionable for tonight. The Under is 3-1 in Washington’s L4 games but the Wiz L7 home games have gone Over the total.
Allen’s Angles
The Pacers are 17-8 off a non-conference game
Indiana is 15-31 ATS the L3 years in March, 5-7 this year
The Over is 12-6 in Pacer games off 3+ losses
The Over is 9-5 this year in Indiana games vs. the Southeast Division
Washington is 4-13 ATS after allowing 105+ points
The Wiz are 4-2 ATS after scoring 85 points or less
The Under is 10-4 in Washington’s L14 vs. losing records
The Over is 9-5 in Wiz games vs. the Central Division