NBA Basketball
2012-04-04 - Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Wednesday 4 April 2012 - Tip Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
Thanks to a major rally in the final quarter, the Indiana Pacers (32-21) moved into the Number 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, there is still plenty of work to be done as we reach the home turn of the regular season.
They meet the Washington Wizards (12-41) who have been short-handed in recent games, but a team that has given Indiana all they have been able to handle in their season series so far.
Indiana needed to outscore the New York Knicks by 23 points in the fourth quarter last night to earn a 8 point win, but there will be some concerns with the defence that has allowed a team to score 100 points for the third time in succession.
The Pacers are looking for a better start tonight as yesterday was the second time they have needed to rally from a double-digit final quarter deficit, and there should be plenty of motivation as they could pull a little further away from the Orlando Magic as they look for a top 4 berth in the Eastern Conference.
Washington were beaten comfortably by the Milwaukee Bucks in their last game at home as being short-handed affected them badly. They have missed Trevor Booker and Nene for the last two games and are unlikely to have either back in the rotation tonight.
They allowed a team to score 100 points for the first time in 9 games in that loss to the Bucks, although they have restricted Indiana to an average of 89 points per game in their two season meetings.
Jordan Crawford and John Wall are going to have to put the Wizards on their back tonight, although there has to be some concern that Randy Whittman, the Head Coach, was talking about fatigue in his team. The one day rest may have helped them for now, but they now fact three games in successive days.
Head to Head
Indiana have won both games this season by a combined 6 points, although they have failed to cover the spread in either game.
Washington are 3-1 against the spread in the last 4 games in the series played in the nation's Capital.
Washington are 9-17-1 against the spread at home this season, Indiana are 14-15 on the road.
The Wizards are 17-26-1 against the spread as the underdog, Indiana are 14-19 as the favourite.
Other Interesting Trends
Indiana are 4-12 against the spread in their last 16 games as the road favourite of between 5 and 10.5 points.
They are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record of under 0.400.
Prediction
I am going to back the Washington Wizards to keep this game close for the following reasons:
First, Indiana have just had two incredible fightbacks and put in a big emotional effort to beat the Knicks last night and could be flat for an 'easy' game before facing Oklahoma City and Boston.
Second, the Pacers are just 1-5 against the spread against teams with losing records in the second half of the season, while Washington are 4-2 against teams with winning records in the same stretch.
Third, Indiana are just 4-10 against the spread in the second of back to back nights play.
The Pick :
Washington Wizards 88-92 Indiana Pacers
