After a disappointing 2014-15 campaign, the Indiana Pacers have made major changes to their roster and style of play. But their franchise player is still Paul George, who has a lot to prove this year. George and the new-look Pacers will now be put to the test when they open up their season against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre tonight. Can they successfully get win No. 1?
Read on below for a full analysis of this promising Eastern Conference showdown. You can also checkout our other NBA game previews: Jazz at Pistons and Bulls at Nets.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Indiana Pacers vs. Toronto Raptors Betting Preview
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2015, 7:30 PM ET
Line: Indiana Pacers (+5.5) vs. Toronto Raptors (-5.5) – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Indiana Pacers
[sc:NBA240banner ]Not too long ago, the Indiana Pacers were considered as one of the beasts in the Eastern Conference. But after missing the playoffs last year, the franchise has decided to head towards a different direction this 2015-16 season. They’ve adapted their game to a much quicker pace and are going to play small-ball basketball. Now, the world will finally get a first glimpse of this new style when the Pacers pay the Toronto Raptors a visit this evening.
Needless to say, Paul George is going to be the center of their offense especially with David West, Roy Hibbert and Luis Scola gone. George, who was limited to six games last season due to a gruesome leg injury that he suffered in the summer of 2014, will be trying to get himself accustomed to playing the power forward spot from now on. That’s definitely going to be quite challenging for him. Across five years in the league, the two-time All-Star is averaging 15.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
George, though, can’t carry the entire load on offense. This is precisely the reason why the Pacers added another play-maker in Monta Ellis, who posted 18.9 points per game with Dallas last year, to give them a much-needed boost. Both George and Ellis are definitely going to garner a lot of the attention from the Raptors’ defense later.
Speaking of defense, Hibbert’s departure leaves the Pacers’ defense pretty vulnerable. That said, the pressure is on Ian Mahinmi and Myles Turner to answer the call. Mahinmi will now be seeing more playing time and hopefully become a reliable rim-protector for his team. Turner, meanwhile, is still raw but has a lot of potential to blossom in the league with his size and shot-blocking capabilities.
Indiana is 2-3 SU and ATS in its past five games at Air Canada Centre.
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Betting on the Toronto Raptors
Will the third time be the charm for the Toronto Raptors this season? Maybe so. They’re coming off two-straight years that led to division titles with both resulting to first-round-exits against the Nets and the Wizards. The Raptors have vowed to do better this time around and will try to start doing so against the Indiana Pacers later.
Offense is arguably the last thing to worry about for the Raptors. The duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan already provides them a solid one-two punch which can leave the Pacers scratching their heads on defense.
Lowry’s ability to facilitate and create his own offense has greatly benefited the team. He posted 17.8 points with 6.8 assists last season across 70 games. DeRozan, on the other hand, is unstoppable when he gets his groove on. He can shoot the basketball with incredible efficiency and attack the paint with his athleticism. In the same year, DeRozan averaged 20.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while shooting the ball at 44.2%.
But as for the defense, Toronto ranked 24th in league in defensive efficiency in 2014. The team management knew this and immediately went to work in the off-season. They’ll be hoping that the key additions of former Atlanta forward DeMarre Carroll, who’s a solid perimeter defender, and rim-protecting big man Bismack Biyombo, who averaged 1.5 blocks as back-up with Charlotte last season, can solve this problem.
The Raptors are 12-8 overall in season-openers. Moreover, they have won four of their past five meetings with the Pacers.
Writer’s Prediction
The Pacers keep it close thanks to George. But the Raptors (-5.5) prevail in this one with some major offensive productions from Lowry and DeRozan.
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