It can be easy to get caught up in all of the college basketball action that is taking place, but the NBA season is heading up as well. On Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls are set to visit the Indiana Pacers for what should be a terrific battle.
The Chicago Bulls just went 3-2 on their West Coast road trip, and they have actually been playing solid basketball for weeks. Chicago is still sitting at just 31-34 on the year, but that should be good enough for the play-in tournament.
Indiana has been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this season, and they are sitting at 36-29 on the year. The Pacers have gone just 2-3 in their last five games, but they are much tougher on their home floor.
The Indiana Pacers are 4.5-point betting favorites in this game and the over/under is set at 233.5 total points.
Bulls Have to Defend
The Chicago Bulls are going to have to be great on the defensive end of the floor in order to win this game, but that hasn’t always been the case. Chicago gave up 120 points to their Pacers in the last matchup, and that won’t work in this game.
This team continues to deal with a number of important injuries and the Bulls are not a team with much depth at all. DeMar DeRozan is leading the way with 23 points per game, but Coby White has been terrific as well.
It will take a great offensive performance from Chicago if they are going to find a way to win this game on Wednesday night.
Pacers Can Really Score
The Indiana Pacers are coming into this game scoring 123 points per game, and they are always looking to score on offense. Indiana is shooting nearly 38 percent from the three-point line this season, and that can be a serious weapon for this team.
Tyrese Haliburton has been one of the best players in the NBA this season as he leads the team with 20.8 points and 11.3 assists per game. Haliburton pushes the tempo on offense, putting his team in a great position to score.
Getting stops on defense has been an issue for Indiana this season, and that is something that will have to improve as the season moves alon
Pacers Pick Up the Win
Even though the Chicago Bulls have been playing some better basketball of late, this is still a team with some flaws. Bench scoring has been an issue all season long for Chicago, and they don’t have the defense to completely shut down an opponent.
Tyrese Haliburton continues to put up huge numbers for the Indiana Pacers, and he should have a ton of success in this matchup. Indiana is one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, and they are going to light up the scoreboard in this game.
Bet the Indiana Pacers -4.5 as they will take control of this game on their home floor and cruise to a big win.
