Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle O243½ -105BET365 O243 -110 Sportsinteraction O243½ -110 888Sport O243½ -110

L.A. Lakers/Indiana over 243½ 

Best Odds: -105 at Pinnacle

7:10 PM EST. Normally two teams from two different conferences don't face-off more than twice in an 82-game schedule, but it feels like the Lakers and Pacers have battled 18 times this season. Tonight marks only their third matchup, in fact, with of course their first affair being in the final round of the first-ever in-season tournament, where the association crowned LeBron James (go figure) and his Lakers as the first ever winners after defeating Indiana 123-109 in early December. That contest showed what these two teams might be like if they faced each other in the postseason, flexing some real good defense in the more pressing moments and therefore reducing the typical output we'd see between these two outfits. The Pacers were also without Pascal Siakam at the time, a trade that's now paying dividends on both ends of the floor.

The true nature of their two clashing styles means that we'll see more offense. In their second contest, the first scheduled battle of the regular season, the Lakers and Pacers combined for 295 points without needing overtime. In every quarter, they scored a combined 66 points or more, 70 or more from quarters 2 through 4. Indiana shot 55% from the floor, LAL shot 56%, and they were lethal from beyond the arc (30-61 combined).

We don't expect to see anything different in Friday's contest, especially considering the current form of both teams. Not only are the Pacers and Lakers both top 5 offenses the last two weeks, a huge part of why both programs are winning so much, but they're also both flying up and down the court at a top-5 tempo. This is the sort of recipe we love for creating explosive offense, two talented rosters trying to one-up the other constantly and racing to the rim to do so, just like they did 5 days ago. 

Sometimes this isn't rocket science. On any given day, two teams can completely divert from their norm and suddenly regress, sure, that's true. But randomly predicting that such regression will rear its head in tonight's showdown makes little sense. The approach and current form of each offense is only catalyzing the other, and it helps that both defenses are less than stellar right now (LAL is 18th, IND is 19th). Neither team has any reason to slow down or rest players at this juncture, since they're both jockeying for a better playoff position, and they both play their next contest on Sunday so this isn't a weird scheduling spot, either. Expect another fun, high-scoring game. This line should be closer to 250.

Farley

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