Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 28/02/2024, 06:23  by Joseph King | Modified on 28/02/2024 at 06:24 in NBA Predictions

The Indiana Pacers play host to the New Orleans Pelicans for this Wednesday night interconference matchup. The Pacers are eighth in the East with a 33-26 record and are involved in a tight race for a spot in the top six. The Pelicans, meanwhile, will look to consolidate their position as they currently sit fifth in the West with a 35-24 record. Indiana is coming off its first loss since returning from the All-Star break after falling 130-122 at home to the Toronto Raptors on Monday. The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak and leaves the Pacers tied with the seventh-placed Magic and a half game behind both the sixth-placed Heat and fifth-place 76ers. The top six seeds qualify directly for the postseason and skip the play-in tournament, meaning that will be Indiana’s goal for the remaining 23 games of the season. The hosts have been playing well overall as of late and are averaging 128.0 points per game over their last three – a league high.

The Pelicans come into this contest off the back of a 115-92 away win over an extremely short-handed New York Knicks team last night. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for New Orleans and marked their fifth win in the last seven games. They’ll have to cope with a difficult schedule spot here, however, as they play the second leg of a back-to-back and their third game in the last four days. New Orleans was extremely efficient in their scoring against the Knicks as they shot 50.6% from the field and 52.9% from three-point range. The Pels now rank sixth in adjusted net rating (+4.3) and sixth in adjusted defensive rating. New Orleans is also in a tight race for a top-six seed as they currently hold a half game lead over the sixth-place Suns and a one game lead over the Kings in seventh.