The Indiana Pacers’ astonishing collapse is almost complete as the no. 8 Atlanta Hawks have pushed the no. 1 seed in the East to the brink of elimination. Can the Hawks seal the enormous upset in front of their home fans or will the Pacers push the series to a Game 7?
Few if any of the experts predictions anticipated how wild this first round has been, and we’re just getting started. Take a second and set up a betting account and then get into the action with the betting preview below.
[sc:NBAArticles ]
Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers Round 1, Game 6 Betting Preview
Series Schedule & Results
Game 1 – April 19, Atlanta 101 Indiana 93
Game 2 – April 22, Atlanta 85 Indiana 106
Game 3 – April 24, Indiana 85 at Atlanta 98
Game 4 – April 26, Indiana 91 at Atlanta 88
Game 5 – April 28, Atlanta 107 at Indiana 97
Game 6 – May 1, 7:00 PM ET, Indiana (-1.5) at Atlanta (+1.5); total 187.5 – view all NBA lines
Game 7 (if necessary) – May 3, Atlanta at Indiana
Betting on the Indiana Pacers
It’s make or break time for the no. 1 seed Pacers. After earning home court advantage with their stellar regular season play, the Pacers need to come through on the road, where they’re just 3-7 SU/ATS in their last 10 games, if they hope to play a Game 7 at home.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Though the situation is certainly bleak, there’s still hope for Indiana. The much-maligned Pacer offense played well enough to win Game 5 on Monday night; five Pacers had 15 or more points, led by Paul George’s 26. George has been one of the few bright spots for the Pacers, and is averaging 22.6 PPG in the series.
The Pacer defense has struggled containing the Hawks all series, especially from beyond the arc, but it’s highly unlikely that Atlanta can keep making double-digit threes for six straight games.
Also, keep in mind that the Hawks haven’t been able to string together two straight wins all series and nerves might finally come into play with the young Hawks in a close-out situation.
The remarkable disappearance of Roy Hibbert might be the best news the Pacers could have going into Game 6. Hibbert had no points or rebounds on Monday, and is now hiding in plain sight in this series.
Hibbert has now put up a Player Efficiency Rating of 0.8 in this series, the worst ever by a player in an All-Star season ever. With Hibbert stamping his own ticket on the bench, the Pacers may now be able to focus on what elements of their offence are working (see: Paul George).
Betting on the Atlanta Hawks
It’s hard to see how the Hawks won’t close this series out in six, especially after they led by as many as 30 points on the road over the hapless Pacers in Game 5.
That was with arguably their best player, Jeff Teague (25 points on 8-for-23 shooting in his last two games) silent for the second straight game. The Hawks received contributions from all over the roster – six players finished with 12 or more points – including 37 points combined from reserves Shelvin Mack and Mike Scott.
The Hawks’ long range assault which has been a key in the series also doesn’t look like slowing down. In Game 5, they hit 15 three-pointers in – the most they’ve hit in the series – at a sizzling 55.6% clip. The Pacers’ nine three-pointers in the second quarter tied the NBA record for threes in a quarter in the playoffs.
And after delivering such a crushing beatdown, the Hawks return home, where they are 16-4 SU in their last 20 games against the Pacers. While the team would like to see more from Teague, the big questions in this series remain about the Pacers’ performance, more than the Hawks’.
Writer’s Prediction
The Hawks feed off their homecourt support and finally put the Pacers out of their misery by winning Game 6 and the series while covering +1.5.
