Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 10/21/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

Odds/Point Spread: Indiana (-3.5)

The Indiana Pacers (19-63 last season) are en route to Smoothie King Center on Wednesday where they will play the New Orleans Pelicans (26-56 last year). Indiana opens this game as 3.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 239.5.

The Pacers faced the Pistons and took a loss by a final of 133-121 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Pacers walked away with 10 and the Pistons accounted for 24 fouls. They also buried 15 of 33 attempts from long range. Detroit finished the game at 81.8% when shooting free throws by burying 18 of 22 attempts. Furthermore, Detroit grabbed 37 boards (6 offensive, 31 defensive) and earned 8 blocked shots. Detroit recorded 23 dimes and had 8 steals for the contest. In regard to defense, Indiana allowed the other team to go 56.2% from the floor on 50 of 89 shooting. They also dished out 23 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 10 steals. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they earned 64 with 21 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Pacers converted 16 of 20 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. Indiana finished the contest with a 45.6% FG percentage (41 out of 90) and made 23 out of their 54 3-point shots.

Quenton Jackson is a player who played a role in the matchup. He recorded 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He played 30 mins but didn't pull down any rebounds. Jackson ended up going 46.7% from the floor and also distributed 8 dimes.

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Indiana steps onto the hardwood after finishing with a win-loss mark of 19-63 last season. They averaged 112.4 pts per contest (27th in basketball) while connecting on 45.8% from the floor. The Pacers hit on 35.6% on shots from distance (1,097 of 3,084) and 77.6% from the charity stripe. As a group, Indiana pulled in 41.9 boards per contest and earned 2,269 assists last year, which had them ranked 12th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They turned it over 14.5 times per game and as a basketball team committed 20.9 fouls every game.

On defense, the Pacers forced their opponents into 13.5 turnovers every game and they drew 19.9 personal fouls. They relinquished 35.5% on shots from downtown and they were 25th in the league in PPG allowed (120.4). The Pacers defense allowed a FG percentage of 48.9% (3,630 of 7,424) and they conceded 46.7 rebounds per contest as a team. They were ranked 14th in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,168 conceded last year.

When they last played, the Pelicans took a defeat by a final score of 132-126 against the Timberwolves. The Pelicans were able to snag 35 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 47 for this game. They coughed it up 11 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. The Timberwolves committed 28 personal fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 38 tries. They were able to knock down 31 of the free throw tries for a rate of 81.6%. Regarding 3-point shots, New Orleans made 5 of 21 attempts (23.8%). In all, the Pelicans ended up going 45 out of 107 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1%. The Pelicans allowed the Timberwolves to convert 45 out of their 89 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.6% for the matchup. They finished shooting 27.0% from distance by shooting 10 out of 37 and finished the game at 32 of 43 at the free throw line (74.4%). In the matter of rebounding, New Orleans permitted Minnesota to get 52 overall (20 on the offensive side).

Jeremiah Fears was important for the Pelicans in the matchup. Jeremiah racked up 36 points in his 41 mins of playing time and earned 5 assists for the game. He converted 12 out of 28 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and totaled 10 rebounds.

New Orleans had a win-loss mark of 26-56 last year. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans hit 46.6% from the field, which ranked them 20th in basketball. New Orleans earned 9,473 points last season (115.5 per game) and they grabbed 43.9 rebounds per contest. They earned an assist 25.1 times per contest (24th in the league) and they lost possession via turnover 14.2 times per game. The Pelicans were responsible for committing 19.9 fouls per game and they hit 78.4% from the free throw line.

The New Orleans defense surrendered 35.0% from downtown (1,164 of 3,323) and opponents knocked down 77.4% of their free throw shots. They conceded 28.1 assists and 45.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, which was ranked 25th and 25th in basketball. The Pelicans on the defensive end were ranked 24th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 120.0. They were able to force 14.5 turnovers per game and let teams shoot 47.7% from the field (20th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Indiana (-3.5)

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