Being the last team in the Eastern Conference without a win has to feel awful for the Brooklyn Nets who will look to change that on Sunday with a trip to Indiana. They actually lost to the Pacers already this season and with two of their last 3 defeats being by double-digits, the Nets are quickly becoming the laughingstock of the NBA. This team is flawed on so many levels, but what is most concerning is the fact that they have literally no inside presence. The Nets score just 39.2 ppg inside the paint, that is the lowest mark in the NBA. Ball movement is another area where they have to improve, right now only 3 other teams in the NBA average less assists than Brooklyn’s 23.2 per game.
Indiana is on the opposite side of the spectrum, at least when it comes to assists. They rank 2nd only behind Atlanta averaging 29.2 per game, right up there with what they averaged in Haliburton’s last healthy season when they ranked 5th. Speaking of Hali, his status remains unchanged as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Indy is one of the more injury hit teams at the moment with Zubac, Nesmith and McConnell all out, while Nesmith and Toppin are day-to-day with knocks. This is one of the main reasons why the Pacers are only 3.5 point favorites here, it’s always tricky when betting on a team with so many key players out.
One thing we could take advantage of is the points total market. Despite all the players out for Indy, I still feel like they’ll push the tempo and put up a ton of points on the Nets. Brooklyn doesn’t mind running, they rank 3rd in pace averaging 108.3 possessions per game. With the first meeting seeing 245 points exactly a week ago, I’ll be once again backing the over here.
Nets vs Pacers Predictions: Over 230.5 Points is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
