Pacers vs. Knicks Odds, Preview, Betting Prediction: Absences Create Value On This Tuesday NBA Total

Pacers vs. Knicks Odds

The Indiana Pacers will travel to New York to take on the Knicks in what is the final game of a short two-game road trip.

Indiana enters this matchup in the midst of one of their worst seasons in recent memory, sitting in 13th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 14-23. New York has not played much better, but they find themselves in 11th in the East and have been far more competitive recently.

Both teams are in the middle of a losing streak, but one team will find their footing once again on Tuesday. Will that mean we see New York defend the Garden, or can Indiana steal a game on the road before returning home?

Pacers Stuck in the Middle of the Road

After signing Malcolm Brogdon to an extension, it appeared that the Pacers had confidence in their roster even after missing the playoffs last season. Since then, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Caris LeVert have all been rumored trade talks, and it looks like this team is well on its way to a rebuild.

Based on their play as of late and for a majority of the season, a rebuild might be the only option this organization has.

To add insult to injury, COVID-19 has now found its way into the locker room. As a result, the playing status of Jeremy Lamb, Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, Caris LeVert, Kelan Martin, Goga Bitadze, and Isaiah Jackson is up in the air.

The Pacers have dropped four straight games and seven of their last 10. In those 10 games, Indiana has averaged a total of 106.4 points per game and has put up an Offensive Rating of 109.9 according to NBA Advanced Stats, 21st in the league in that stretch.

Looking at their season as a whole, Indiana's field goal percentage has dropped to 45.6% as opposed to 47.4% last season, and their efficiency from behind the arc has taken an even bigger dip as they are shooting just 32.6% from deep compared to 36.4% in 2020-21. Through 37 games in the 2021-22 season, the Pacers have posted a net rating of zero, the same net rating they finished with last season.

Even with a new coach in the building in Rick Carlisle, this is a still a team that seems stuck in the middle of the road and doesn't appear to have found a way out.

Knicks Offense Can't Figure it Out

The New York Knicks began to 2021-22 season by winning five of their first six games, building on some of the success they had last season when they finished fourth in the Eastern Conference.

However, the Knicks have won just 12 of their last 31 games, and they're now on the outside of the playoff picture and looking in.

They still remain a force on defense, but the offense has clearly lagged behind significantly, and that will likely remain the case since Julius Randle, Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose, and Nerlens Noel will all be sidelined for this matchup.

Similar to Indiana, scoring the ball has not come easy recently, which will obviously contribute to any teams' slide in the standings. In their last 10 games, New York is averaging just 101.7 points per game, which ranks last in the NBA in that span. The Knicks are also shooting 42.6% overall, 34.6% from behind the arc, and 75.4% from the charity stripe in their last 10. They're struggling from everywhere.

Luckily, this team has managed to stand tall on defense, which is a huge reason why they have been able to stay afloat. On the season, New York has the fifth best Defensive Rating (106.8), and has managed to hold their opponents to shooting just over 43% from the floor in their last 10 games.

Pacers-Knicks Pick

COVID-19 and the injury bug are the main headlines coming into this game, but a common theme for both squads this season has been their inability to consistently find the bottom of the basket.

In addition to all of the injuries and shooting woes mentioned above, Indiana and New York both rank in the bottom seven in the NBA in Pace, with both teams having under 97.5 possessions per game this season. I don't expect that to change in this one, especially when there are so many absences to key players that both offenses are centered around.

Both of these teams play a slow style of basketball when compared to the rest of the NBA, and I think both the Pacers and the Knicks will continue to do just that in order to manage being without many of their stars. That will likely lead this one to being a low-scoring affair.

The market has dropped this line quite a bit, but there's still a 208.5 at BetMGM as of Tuesday morning.

Pick: Under 208.5 (-110)