The Toronto Raptors head to Hoosier State in the second of a back to back schedule for them. The Raptors will face the Indiana Pacers for the third time this season but Wednesday’s encounter will be their first at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Sacramento Kings 120-105 on Tuesday night to sweep a three game homestand. With the win, Toronto solidified its hold of the Atlantic Division and kept themselves close to the Milwaukee Bucks at #2 in the Eastern Conference. However, the Raptors will travel right away to Indiana in another back to back schedule for them.
A back to back means that Toronto will rest Kawhi Leonard against the Pacers. Leonard leads the team with 27.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Serge Ibaka is having an excellent season with 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Pascal Siakam is also having a breakout season with 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
The Raptors are in the Top 10 in both scoring and defense. Toronto is averaging 113.9 points per game which is 6th best in the league while they are allowing 108.3 points per game which is 9th in the entire NBA. The Raptors are also 16th in both passing and rebounding at 24.3 assists and 45.0 boards, respectively.
Right behind the Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings are the upstart Indiana Pacers who have gotten plenty of momentum since getting Victor Oladipo back from injury .Funny thing is that ‘Dipo has struggled to shoot the ball since returning but his teammates have stepped up and the Pacers are now 2nd behind the Bucks in the Central Division and 3rd overall in the Eastern Conference behind Milwaukee and Toronto.
Oladipo still leads the Pacers with 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Bojan Bogdanovic is the second leading scorer at 16.0 points per game while Domantas Sabonis is having an great season with 15.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Darren Collison leads the Pacers with 5.6 assists while also scoring 9.5 points per game. Myles Turner is contributing 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
The Pacers are only the 21st best scoring team at 109.0 points per game. They are also just 23rd off the glass with 43.8 boards per contest. However, the Pacers are 7th in passing with 25.9 assists per game and they are the top defensive team in the league with 103.1 points per game allowed.
The Raptors are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games and Toronto is 3-6 SU in their last 9 games on the road. The Pacers are 4-1 SU in their last five games and 4-1 SU in their last five home games. Head to head, the Raptors have won their last five meetings overall but the Pacers are 4-1 SU in the last five meetings in Indiana.
Heading to their Tuesday game against the Kings, the Raptors have won 9 out of their last 11 games and the carried a two game win streak against Sacramento. But because Wednesday will be the second of a back to back schedule for them, Kawhi Leonard will once again be rested, as what the Raptors have done all season long. Leonard’s absence will surely hurt especially against a Pacers team that leads the lead in defensive scoring.
Meanwhile, the Pacers have plenty of momentum heading to this game. Indiana has won 11 out of their last 14 games and while they have not gotten on a winning streak longer than seven games, they have not lost two in a row since December 20 when they lost 96-99 to the Raptors. Toronto has won the first two meetings between these teams this season but both games were played up North. Indiana will certainly have payback in mind in their only home game against the Raptors this season.
Victor Oladipo continues to struggle in his return but he’s put up big games when needed and his teammates have stepped up when asked to. The Pacers have won three out of the last five meetings in Indiana and the Raptors are without their main man. Toronto is a very good team with a good rotation but without their closer on the road, I have to give this to the home team. I’m picking the Indiana Pacers to beat the Toronto Raptors on 1/23/19.
Toronto is 2-4 ATS in their last six games played. The Raptors are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 road games. Indiana is 4-1 ATS in their last five games played and the Pacers are 3-2 ATS in their last five home games. Head to head, the Raptors are 3-1 ATS in their last four meetings but the Pacers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against the Raptors.
The Raptors have struggled on the road against the NBA’s Elites. They are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against teams with winning records. Toronto is also just 1-8 ATS in their last nine road games overall. Meanwhile, the Pacers are stout at home. Indiana is 6-1 ATS at home against teams with winning road records and 4-1 ATS in their last five home games overall. This is going to be a good matchup between two of the top teams in the East. I’m going to pick the Pacers because they are playing at home where they are 13-10 ATS on the season. It won’t help Toronto that Kawhi Leonard will be rested on Wednesday. Prediction: Pacers -5
The total has gone over in seven out of the last 10 games of the Raptors. The over has also hit in nine of the Pacers’ last 12 games played. Head to head though, there teams have seen the under prevail in six out of their last 10 meetings. The under is also 5-2 in their previous seven encounters and 5-0 in their last five games played in Indiana.
Indiana is the #1 defensive team in the league in terms of scoring defense so every game they play, you have to like the under. The under is 10-4 in the Raptors last 14 games against teams with winning straight up records while the Pacers have seen the under go 5-2 in their last seven games against teams with winning SU records. Likewise, the total has gone under in four out of the last five games of Indiana against teams with a winning record of above .600. Toronto and Indiana have gone under the total in their last 8 games at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the over is 5-2 in their last 7 meetings overall. Prediction: Under 217
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