Posted at 2:00 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle N/A BET365 O62½ -110 Sportsinteraction O62½ +100 888Sport O62½ -110

Indiana 1H TT over 62½ over Brooklyn

Best Odds: +100 at Sportsinteraction

7:10 PM EST. Unless a small miracle occurred, the Brooklyn Nets' season is over. Behind 5½ games from the 10th seed, aka the final spot to compete in the NBA's new "play-in tournament," Brooklyn only has 7 games left. Tonight starts a double-header against the 6th seed Indiana Pacers, who have improved into a legitimate threat in the East, and then they have other challenging contests against the Kings, Knicks, and 76ers to wrap up Brooklyn's 2023-24 schedule. And it's hardly surprising that the Nets aren't going anywhere this year. Brooklyn is a roster composed of C+ to B+ players, all talented in their own ways and for the most part a very defensively sound group, but they have no true star and no true advantage when they face off against another program. That's been their issue since Kevin Durant and James Harden and Kyrie Irving left, and it's persisted for all 7 months of their campaign. We're sure their fans are ready for change.

Making matters worse for the away team, less than 24 hours ago they were getting stomped by LeBron James and the Lakers at home. LAL opened up with a 31-11 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, as the Lake-show's surge to the playoffs continue and Brooklyn's further demise became all-too-apparent in the wake of battle. Brooklyn had a good week before their debacle on Sunday, earning three straight wins against equally pitiful programs (TOR, WAS, CHI), but when a contender came to town they couldn't hold up. We think the very same thing happens tonight, but the Pacers are a massive favorite and that's not something we typically fire on.

But there is value in other places. Indiana has ascended the last two weeks, becoming one of the most efficient offenses in the NBA on a nightly basis. They rank in the top-10 in true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, as well as top-6 in total offense. They're also top-10 in three point rate, shooting nearly 39% in their last 7 contests. The duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam has needed time to work together and establish chemistry, but it appears as if they've finally found their groove. Winners of 4 of their last 6, Haliburton and Siakam have been sharing the responsibility of #1 and #2 interchangeably, depending on each other to deliver when a matchup or situation favors one more than the other, and it's meant fireworks for their offense. There was a stretch of 8 games in mid-March where Indiana only failed to eclipse 120 points on one occasion.

Tonight they'll get a chance to return-to-form at home and off 3 full days of rest, since they haven't played since last Friday. They're also hanging onto the 6th seed by a thread, and should be hyper-motivated to keep winning so they can avoid the risk of the play-in tournament. We're not sure if the Pacers can cover the giant spreads we're seeing today (they're as high as 8½-point chalk in the first half), but we expect their offense to pounce early and overwhelm an exhausted Brooklyn defense. We'll wager on early points from a much better operation.

Farley

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