Indiana vs. Orlando — Wednesday, April 16
This Wednesday marks the final day of regular season games in the NBA
and while the overall playoff picture in both conferences is pretty
much set, a few teams are still jockeying for position for a run at
winning a world title. The team at the top of that list is the Indiana
Pacers, who need to win their final game of the year this Wednesday
against Orlando to secure the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage in the
East all the way through the conference finals.
The Pacers had been able to keep Miami at bay all year long for the
top spot in the conference standings but a late-season swoon that
includes a very pedestrian 9-13 straight-up record in their last 22
games has really made things far too close for comfort down the stretch.
After going back and forth with the Heat for the past month or so in
the standings, this past Sunday’s 102-97 victory over Oklahoma City put
them just one more SU victory away from achieving their season-long
goal. Indiana closed as a one-point home underdog against the Thunder on
BetAnySports’ betting line.
It is now covered in two of its last three games after going a costly
1-11 against the spread in its previous 12 contest. The total went OVER
the 192-point closing line against the Thunder and it has now gone OVER
in its last six games.
Orlando has absolutely nothing to play for on Wednesday night other
than finally putting another dismal season to rest. Coming into Monday
night’s game against Chicago as 12-point road underdogs on BetAnySports’
current betting line, the Magic have just four SU victories in their
last 18 games. They have covered in three of their last four outings
after going 3-6 ATS in their previous nine games. The total has stayed
UNDER in four of their last five contests.
The Magic already lost Nikola Vucevic with a sore Achilles and Jameer
Nelson is listed as questionable heading into Monday night’s tilt
against the Bulls. Orlando has averaged 96.7 points per game this season
with Arron Affalo leading the way (18.5 points per game) and it is
shooting 44.5 percent from the field. Defensively, it is holding
opponents to an average of 101.9 points, which is ranked 18th in the NBA.
The motivation to win this game remains extremely high for Indiana
assuming that the Heat can get by Washington on the road this Monday
night. If the Heat lose that game, this matchup suddenly becomes
meaningless, but I do not see that being the case. Take the Pacers and
lay the points if they still need to win to this game to clinch the top
spot in the East.
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NBA Pick of the Week: Indiana vs. Orlando — Wednesday, April 16
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