Philadelphia 76ers vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 12/18/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds
Game: Philadelphia 76ers vs Indiana Pacers
Date: Friday, December 18, 2020
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
TV: NBA League Pass
Odds/Point Spread: Philadelphia (-1)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse is the site where and the Indiana Pacers (45-28 last year) will take on the Philadelphia 76ers (43-30 last season) on Friday. The line on this game has Philadelphia as 1-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 218.
Philadelphia enters this matchup after finishing with a mark of 43-30 last year. They lost possession by turning the ball over 14.2 times per game and as a team committed 20.9 fouls per game. As a group, Philadelphia snagged 45.4 boards per contest and earned 1,884 assists throughout last season, which ranked 8th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The 76ers connected on 36.8% on 3-point shots (848 of 2,307) and 75.5% from the free throw line. They averaged 110.7 points per contest (20th in the league) while hitting 46.8% from the field. On defense, the 76ers were able to force their opponents into 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.5 fouls. They relinquished 35.3% on 3-point shots while they were 6th in basketball in PPG allowed (108.4). The 76ers defensively allowed a field goal percentage of 46.3% (2,905 of 6,275) and they conceded 41.8 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They were ranked 9th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,661 conceded over the course of last year.
The Philadelphia 76ers faced the Boston Celtics and took a loss by a final of 108-99 in their last preseason contest. Philadelphia finished the game with a 47.1% field goal percentage (40 out of 85) and knocked down 7 out of their 29 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the 76ers knocked down 21 of 28 tries for a rate of 75.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 42 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 23 assists in this game as well as earning 11 steals and 3 blocks. In the matter of the defense, Philadelphia let their opponent shoot 43.4% from the floor on 36 of 83. Boston earned 19 dimes and 7 steals in the matchup. Furthurmore, the Celtics totaled 42 boards (12 offensive, 30 defensive) and earned 7 blocked shots. Boston finished the contest at 72.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of their 22 tries. They made 11 of their 39 shots from beyond the arc.
Indiana had a record of 45-28 last year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pacers shot 47.6% from the floor, which ranked 2nd in basketball. Indiana accounted for 7,989 pts last year (109.4 per contest) and they snagged 42.8 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates was at 25.9 times per contest (7th in the league) and they turned it over 13.2 times per contest. The Pacers were responsible for committing 19.8 personal fouls every game and they connected on 78.7% from the free throw line. The Pacers on the defensive end were ranked 3rd in the league in PPG given up with 107.5. They gave up 23.1 dimes and 45.2 total boards per game, which ranked them 6th and 16th in basketball. The Indiana defense surrendered 34.1% on shots from distance (837 of 2,455) and opponents connected on 78.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They forced 14.7 turnovers per game and allowed teams to shoot 44.6% from the floor (6th in the NBA).
The last time they took the hardwood in the preseason, the Indiana Pacers took a loss by a score of 116-106 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers were able to pull down 27 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 33 in this matchup. They turned away 2 attempts while getting 9 steals in the game. The Cavaliers were called for 25 fouls for this game which got the Pacers to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They were able to convert 7 of them for a rate of 53.8%. When it comes to three-point attempts, Indiana made 17 out of their 40 tries (42.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pacers went 41 for 91 from the floor which had them shooting 45.1%. The Pacers allowed the Cavaliers to convert 37 of 72 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 51.4% in this game. They finished 37.5% from three-point range by shooting 12 of 32 and ended up shooting 30 out of 37 from the free throw line (81.1%). When discussing attacking the glass, Indiana permitted Cleveland to grab 42 in total (10 offensive).
Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?
Tony Sink's Pick: Take Philadelphia (-1)
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Additional Resources:
Indiana Pacers - Twitter
Philadelphia 76ers - Twitter