Another promising Eastern Conference matchup in the NBA is bound to set your Monday night on fire as the Paul George-led Indiana Pacers open up a four-game road trip against Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena. Who will reign supreme in this one? Can George lead his Pacers continue their dominance versus Miami? Or will Wade and co. finally get one over them this season?
Read on below for a comprehensive breakdown of this game. And if you’re craving for more hoops action, check out our preview of the Raptors vs. Cavaliers.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat Betting Preview
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
When: Monday, January 4, 2016, 7:30 PM ET
Line: Indiana Pacers (+2.5) at Miami Heat (-2.5); total: 192.0– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: NBATV
Betting on the Indiana Pacers (19-14)
[sc:NBA250 ]The Indiana Pacers are 2-0 against the Heat this season and that’s mainly thanks to Paul George. In those two wins, he’s tallied 59 points and 20 rebounds in total while shooting the ball at a solid rate of 47.7 percent. George will try to lead the Pacers to another win over Miami tonight but this time as the road team.
George should be able to put his imprints all over this game tonight as he’s played considerable better away from home with 25.4 PPG with 7.6 RPG and 4.1 APG across 16 road games thus far.
Furthermore, the 25-year-old forward has been beastly in his previous two contests, during which he has successfully reached the 30-point mark. The most recent one came at the expense of the Pistons Saturday night wherein he erupted for 32 points and 14 rebounds to help his Pacers rally back and capture the thrilling 94-82 win.
Besides George, the Pacers can also lean on Monta Ellis for some more offensive punch. Consistency remains to be a problem for him, but he can neverthelessput up huge numbers especially when he gets it going. The Heat experienced this firsthand as Ellis poured in 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting during his last game (December 11) against them and is posting 13.9 PPG and 4.8 APG across 20 career games versus Miami.
If there’s one thing that could spell doom to Indiana’s chances in this one, it would be through their carelessness. The Pacers are one of the most error-prone teams in the league this, averaging 15.0 turnovers per game. They can’t afford to give extra possessions to the Heat, who have been able to relatively capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes this season (15.2 points off turnovers).
Indiana is 4-6 SU and ATS in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Miami Heat (20-13)
Obviously, revenge would be the main theme for the Miami Heat in this matchup. They’ve lost the first two meetings—both at Bankers Life Fieldhouse—with the Pacers this season and are definitely aching to give them a taste of their own medicine. That’ll be easier said than done but the Heat have more than enough weapons to accomplish this.
For one, there’s the dynamic duo of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who can both be major headaches to opposing teams thanks to their ability to score at will. The two superstars are averaging 18.6 PPG and 18.4 PPG respectively this season.
Also, the Heat have an immovable force in the middle in Hassan Whiteside, who has been a rock on both offense and defense as well. The 26-year-old center is contributing 12.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game while currently leading the league in blocks with 126 under his name thus far. But even with his imposing presence, the team still needs to be wary about guarding Paul George, who’s the seventh-leading scorer in the NBA right now with 24.5 points per contest.
That said, the onus is on the entire Heat to provide a collective effort in stopping George from finding his comfort zone. They’ve done a pretty good job this year in limiting their opponents from racking up the points, allowing just 95.1 points per game (3rd-fewest in the NBA).
Miami is 6-4 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Indiana (+2.5) wins, 83-79, thanks to another huge night from PG13. Create a betting account now and put your NBA predictions to the test!
[sc:NBA620 ]nevertheless
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