Pacers vs. Raptors Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Jeremy Perry
The Indiana Pacers will visit the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in what could be a preview of a first-round playoff series. The Raptors are currently the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings while the Pacers are currently the No. 6 seed, so if either side moves up or down, they’ll end up clashing early in the postseason. The Raptors have won two of the three meetings between the teams, so the Pacers will be looking to make a statement on Sunday and tie up the season series.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Pacers have lost six of eight overall and have covered the spread in just five of those games. On the year, they’re 29-25-2 against the spread. Three of those ATS losses were to Toronto as they’ve failed to cover in all three meetings.
Meanwhile, Toronto is 41-15 on the year and is 31-24-1 against the spread. They’ve won 16 of their last 17 games and are 11-6 against the spread in that span. They’ve won eight in a row at home, covering the spread in six of those contests.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have snapped out of their slump as they’ve won two in a row following their season-long six-game losing streak. It was a bizarre stretch for Indiana, who has mostly been a quality team this year. Two of the losses were to Toronto but they also lost at home to the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans. They’ve rebounded with back-to-back wins over Milwaukee and New York, but it’s still unclear why they slumped. For one, their defense wasn’t as crisp. They are eighth in the NBA in points per game allowed at 107.4 but are over two points above that during the last eight games, giving up 109.6. They also gave up 116.3 in their three meetings with Toronto, which shows that they’ve struggled to contain them. They’ve been getting burned from three of late as they’re giving up 37.3% from beyond the arc over their last 15 games. That ranks them 19th in the NBA.
We’ll find out if they’ve made the right adjustments when they visit Toronto on Sunday.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors continue to roll. Their 15-game winning streak was ended in Brooklyn on Wednesday but they rebounded with an easy 118-101 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday. With Drake on-hand, the Raptors got 37 points from All-Star Pascal Siakam as all five starters scored in double-figures. This offense is on a tear right now, averaging 117.1 points per game over their last 15 contests. However, it’s the defense that sets this team apart. They are second in opponent field goal percentage (37.9%) over their last 15 contests and fifth in opponent points at 108.6.
Kyle Lowry will be the key to the Raptors success on Sunday. He scores 19.5 points per game on the year but is averaging 26.0 points per game in his three matchups with Indiana so far.