We closed out January by doing something that we hadn’t done since starting 2-0 in December, and that’s put two wins together. The Pistons lose, but cover and we’ve got just the slightest bit of breathing room in the bankroll heading into the Super Bowl weekend. Our first play of the month comes tonight when the Pacers visit the Nets.
Free Pick
Indiana is hot; Brooklyn is not. The Pacers will try to tie a season-high with their fifth straight win tonight (they did that a couple weeks back). The current four-game winning streak includes the last two by double-digits and comes immediately after losing three in a row at the hands of the Lakers, Jazz and Knicks. They won’t catch Cleveland in the Central but have climbed to sixth in the Eastern Conference and have their sights set on bumping the Hawks out of that four/five matchup. The Little Dog, Glenn Robinson III has played exceptionally well of late to solidify the bench, shooting 11-for-13 and averaging 14 a game in the last two Indiana wins.
Meanwhile, ever since that 143 outburst against the Pelicans to snap a long losing streak, all Brooklyn has done since is lose – seven in a row. You might ask why the Nets insist on playing at the league’s highest pace when they are so dreadful and you would be very appropriate to wonder such a thing. Brooklyn turns the ball over more than any other team in the league and shoots in the bottom third from both two and three. Generating extra possessions isn’t helping.
The problem with betting against the Nets every night is that everyone knows they’re bad. No matter. The Pacers are only giving seven tonight. Paul George recently made a comment about needing to learn how to bury teams – presumably teams like Brooklyn. If his guys can’t bury the Nets tonight, free throws at the end should push this one Indy’s way. And for those who care, I’m laying the points with New England.
Free Pick: Pacers -7
Brooklyn Nets • Indiana Pacers