basketball | Thursday, February 2, 2023 12:50 PM

Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Best Bet: Back Lakers For Road Win

Sam Cox

Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Best Bet: Thursday, February 2nd

The Los Angeles Lakers are 1.5-point favourites on the road against the slumping Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. LeBron James is within just three or four games of becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer, and the Lakers have a legitimate shot at reaching the playoffs directly (without the stress of the Play-In Tournament).

Tyrese Haliburton was officially upgraded to questionable for this game, and Rick Carlisle is expecting the soon-to-be All-Star to play. Indiana has gone 1-9 without Haliburton over the last few weeks. It is worth noting, however, that their net rating is still just -0.8 with the former King on the court.

Anthony Davis, James and Patrick Beverley are all probable for the Lakers. It would be a surprise if any of the three sat out.

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Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview
Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Best Bet

Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview

Fri, Feb 03. 00:10 (UK time)

When Davis and James are healthy, the Lakers are a good team. They are far from the title-winning juggernaut of a few years ago, but both own a positive net rating in their minutes. Russell Westbrook’s play has improved, excluding some curious clutch decisions, while Dennis Schroeder, Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant are all playing at a good level to complement the two megastars.

Indiana has the fourth-worst offence in the NBA since Haliburton’s injury, which will improve with his combination of playmaking and shooting. This is a difficult matchup for the home team, however, who rely on getting to the rim and taking good-quality threes. With Davis patrolling the paint, the Lakers are an above-average team at defending the paint, plus they are in the top-10 in opponent corner three rate.

On the other end of the floor, the Pacers are 29th in fouls per field-goal attempt, and the Lakers are top-six in generating free throws. Indiana is a subpar team at protecting the rim – with limited perimeter shooting, the Lakers take the greatest share of their shots in the restricted area, and convert at a good rate.

Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Best Bet

The Lakers have only been a road favourite twice this season, but they have been victorious on both occasions. While a rest disadvantage could deter some bettors, Los Angeles has demonstrated against the Celtics and Knicks how good they can be with LeBron and Davis on the court.

After the good vibes of earlier in the season, the Pacers have slipped to 10th in the Eastern Conference and rank down in 25th for net rating in 2022-23.

Following their woeful 2-10 start, the Lakers have pretty consistently performed like a playoff team. The biggest threat to this wager is Davis and/or James being given the night off after going to overtime at Madison Square Garden.