Two Eastern Conference powerhouses collide this Thursday night, as Paul George and his Indiana Pacers tangle up with the Atlanta Hawks for the second time this season. The Pacers emerged victorious during their first meeting with Atlanta and will certainly be looking for revenge tonight. Will George be able to lead his team to a win? Or will Atlanta steal one on the road?
[sc:NBA250 ]Let’s now take a detailed look below at this must-see showdown. Meanwhile, you can check out our preview of the New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors as well.
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Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers Betting Preview
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
When: Thursday, January 28, 2016, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Atlanta Hawks (+3.5) at Indiana Pacers (-3.5); total: 201.5– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast:FSS, FSIN, C+ D
Betting on the Atlanta Hawks (27-20)
[sc:NBA250 ]Following a commanding victory over Denver last Monday, the Atlanta Hawks quickly fell back down to earth last night against the visiting Clippers, who escaped with an 85-83 win at Philips Arena. The Hawks shot themselves in the foot in this one by committing a season-high 23 turnovers. They’ll now look to regroup and take care of business in the road game against the Indiana Pacers tonight.
With one the league’s premiere scorers in Paul George on the opposing side, the Hawks, who are giving up almost a hundred points per game this season, will really have to focus on their defensive coverage. But George won’t be the only man they’ll have to worry about since there’s still the ever-so-dangerous Monta Ellis.
Ellis is the second-leading scorer for Indiana this year and also boasts a solid track record against Atlanta throughout his career. The former Mavericks guard is averaging 18.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists across 19 games in this matchup.
As for the offense, expect the Hawks to continue pounding the ball inside through the pair of Paul Millsap and Al Horford, who lead the team in scoring with 18.3 points and 15.2 points per contest respectively. The two should be able to get some easy buckets opposite an Indiana defense that’s yielding 42.4 points in the paint this season.
Atlanta is 4-6 SU and ATS in its previous 10 road games.
Even with the loud cheers of their home crowd, the Indiana Pacers failed to deliver the goods down the stretch and eventually succumbed to the visiting Clippers last night, 91-89. Paul George did everything he could to give his team the much-need win, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds and three dimes. But those efforts came to waste and the Pacers, who have lost three in a row, will again try to stop the bleeding when they play host to the Atlanta Hawks tonight.
George, the league’s eighth-leading scorer (23.9 PPG), will look to provide another notable performance and hopefully emerge on the winning side this time around. He’s been playing exceptional basketball as of late, tallying a total of 65 points, 15 rebounds and six three-pointers in his last two contests. Against the Hawks though, the 25-year-old is only putting up 15.0 PPG across 14 career games.
If he does end up struggling, the Pacers will desperately need the pair of Monta Ellis and George Hill to make their presence felt. Both are averaging double-figure numbers this year with 13.7 PPG and 12.7 PPG respectively.
Ellis, in particular, has been considerably better through 13 games in January thus far, posting 15.2 PPG on 47.2 percent shooting. But it’s worth noting that he was limited to just six points (3-of-12 shooting) versus the Clippers yesterday.
Indiana is 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in its previous 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Pacers (-3.5) get back on track, 95-89, thanks to huge night from Paul George and Monta Ellis.
