Indiana Pacers vs Charlotte Hornets 11/19/2021 NBA Preview and Prediction

The Indiana Pacers head to Spectrum Center for a showdown with the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Indiana is 6-10 on the season and they are in 4th place in the Central Division team standings. The Pacers head to the Hornets’ Hive having split their last 10 games played and going 2-4 SU in six road games during that period.

Charlotte is 9-7 on the season and they are in 3rd place in the Southeast Division team standings. The Hornets have won their last four games and have covered the betting spread in every game during their current win streak.

The Pacers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Hornets but Charlotte is 3-1 SU in their last four head-to-head meetings, including a nail-biting 123-122 conquest of Indiana in their most recent encounter last October 20th.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers looked on their way to winning against the Pistons when they took a 79-73 lead to start the 4th quarter of their game. But a 14-3 blast by the Pistons quickly turned the tide and the Pacers never recovered and lost 97-89 as 6.5 point favorites.

Domantas Sabonis is having a fantastic season, averaging 18.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Malcolm Brogdon is Indiana’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game while also grabbing 7.1 rebounds per contest and issuing 6.5 assists per game. Caris LeVert is putting up 16.6 PPG while rookie Chis Duarte is putting up 14.3 points per game.

Indiana is ranked 20th in the league in scoring at only 106.3 points per game this season. They are 16th in rebounding at 45.5 boards grabbed per contest and are 16th in passing at 23.1 assists per game.

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets picked up their fourth straight win with a win over the erstwhile East leaders Washington Wizards. The win came one game after the Hornets toppled the league-leading Golden State Warriors. Charlotte used a big third quarter to take a 10-point lead against the Wizards and never let them get closer than five points.

Miles Bridges has emerged as Charlotte’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game while also averaging 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. LaMelo Ball has been the engine that runs their offense and the 2021 Rookie of the Year is averaging 18.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game this season. Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier are scoring 17.6 points and 17.6 and 15.5 points per game, respectively.

Charlotte is the no. 2 scoring team in the NBA at 112.3 points per game. The Hornets also rank 15th in rebounding at 45.7 boards grabbed per contest and are 4th in passing at 26.2 assists per game.

Who Wins?

Indiana is 2-3 SU in their last five games played. The Pacers are 2-8 SU in 10 road games played this season, 3-9 SU in their last 12 games against the Eastern Conference, and 2-4 SU in their last six games against the Southeast Division.

Charlotte is 4-1 SU in their last five games played. The Hornets are 5-2 SU in seven home games played this season, 7-3 SU in their last 10 Friday games, and 4-1 SU in their last five November games.

The Pacers continue to deal with injuries. T.J. Warren is still out and the Pacers may be without rookie standout Chis Duarte who is questionable again with an ankle injury. Indiana has scored only 84 and 89 in their last two games, both losses.

Charlotte meanwhile has some momentum as they have won four in a row and just took down the Warriors two games ago and the Wizards in their last game. LaMelo and Bridges have been electric and given their overall talent, Sabonis might need a superhuman effort to carry the Pacers here.

Indiana hasn’t looked the same without Duarte. Unless he plays and is 100%, it would be wise to fade the Pacers.

Prediction: Charlotte Hornets

Other Bets to Make

The Pacers are 6-3 ATS in their last nine games played. Indiana is 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games against an opponent with a winning SU record, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as an underdog, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as road underdogs, and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games when playing on one day rest.

The Hornets are 4-0 ATS in their last four games played. Charlotte is 4-1 ATS in their last five games against an opponent with a road winning percentage below .400, 39-11-1 ATS in their last 51 games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, 15-6 ATS in their last 21 games as betting favorites, 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Friday games, and 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.

Head to head, the Hornets are 3-1 ATS in their last four games against the Pacers. Charlotte is also 11-3 ATS in their last 14 home games against Indiana.

Domantas Sabonis has been carrying a lot of load in Indiana right now and while he is putting up impressive numbers, there’s not much he can do when his team is up against an explosive and hungry team like the Hornets.

Charlotte had a fast start, struggled a bit, and now has won four in a row again. Indiana has been more inconsistent and they may not have Duarte here. Sure, he is just a rookie, but Duarte has been a terrific supporting player for Sabonis.

If the spread line was maybe six points, I would have thought about it harder. But we’re laying only 2.5 points here and that’s just one three made for the league’s second-highest scoring team and 4th best three-point shooting club. I’ll eat the plus points here.

Prediction: Hornets -2.5

The total has gone under in seven out of the last eight games played by the Pacers. The under is 7-0 in their last seven games played on the road, 5-0 in their last five games as underdogs, 5-0 in their last five games as road underdogs, 6-1 in their last seven Friday games, 5-1 in their last six road games against an opponent with a winning home record, and 5-1 in their last six games after a straight-up loss.

The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Hornets. The under is 9-2 in their last 11 games as home favorites, 4-1 in their last five games after an ATS win, 4-1 in their last five games after a straight-up win, 4-1 in their last five games against an opponent with a losing SU record, and 23-11 in their last 34 games when playing on 1-day rest.

Indiana could be missing 14.3 points per game from Chris Duarte again. The Pacers scored less than 90 points per game in their previous two games, both of which Duarte missed. This team still belongs to Sabonis and Brogdon but without solid contributors like Duarte, they will end up getting outgunned in the end.

Charlotte is a high-scoring team that allows the second-most points per game this season. However, the total in their previous three games was all below 215 and 216 in the fourth game of this winning streak. The Hornets have not allowed more than 108 points in each of their last four games played.

Give me these teams to play to the under.

Prediction: Under 215

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