Pacers vs Hornets Prediction, Picks Tonight

Here's everything you need to know about Pacers vs. Hornets on Monday, Feb. 12 — our expert prediction and betting picks for today.

The Pacers are currently clinging to the six-seed in the East, just a half-game up on the Magic. The Hornets snapped a 10-game losing streak on Saturday against Memphis.

Let's get to our Pacers vs. Hornets prediction and picks.

The Pacers should score at will against this league-worst Hornets defense. The Pacers traded away Buddy Hield for Doug McDermott and Furkan Korkmaz, so their ability to space the floor should not be hindered significantly.

They continue to play at the league’s second-fastest pace while ranking as the second-best offense in the NBA.

We saw these teams match up eight days ago and the Pacers posted an average offensive rating of 117.0, but I’d argue that offensive rating was not indicative of how dominant their offense was. The Pacers were able to generate a 50% rim rate on offense (98th percentile) but converted at a horrible 59.5% clip.

That was also a much better defense than the Hornets will roll out tonight as the Hornets still had not acquired Tre Mann and Vasile Micic yet. I’d expect the Pacers to light this Hornets defense up tonight.

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The Hornets picked up a win over the Grizzlies on Saturday on the backs of some solid play from new Hornets Micic and Mann.

Mann actually posted the highest usage rate on the team but was only able to turn that into nine points and nine assissts. Micic was the standout as he had 18 points and nine assists on 8-of-12 shooting in just 26 minutes.

Mann and Micic are talented offensive players who can provide immediate spark to this lifeless Hornets squad.

The Hornets have not been publicly shamed to the same degree of the Pistons, but they have actually been a much worse team. They're a full 3.2 points worse in net rating, according to dunksandthrees.com.

I think that Micic and Mann can massively improve their offense while Lamelo Ball is out, but their defense will continue to be the worst in the NBA.

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I like over 238.5 with the additions of Mann and Micic I expect a significant upgrade to the Hornets' offense with a probable downgrade to their defense.

The Hornets' pace has also been slowly creeping up over their last few games as they’ve had two straight games of above average transition rates on offense. They currently rank 20th in pace, but if that starts to creep up this team will be an over machine with how awful its defense is.

I like this over at any number below 240 if Tyrese Haliburton plays.

Pick: Over 238.5 

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