The Indiana Pacers will enter this game on the back of a 105-104 home win over the Atlanta Hawks in overtime. Meanwhile, Philadelphia defeated one of the NBA's weakest teams, the New York Knicks, 101-95 on the road. The 76ers have also won three of the last four meetings with the Pacers, including a 106-89 victory in March this year.
Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia is one of several realistic candidates to win this season NBA title, but so far they have not shown the kind of confident play that was expected. Although the 76ers are one of the most dominant teams at home, winning all eight games played, they have won only 5 of the 11 games played on the road, which prevents them from moving up the standings.
Philadelphia has won 6 of the last 7 meetings, including the last 2 games in a row. The most recent win came against the Knicks, 106-89, and it was the 76ers' 10th consecutive win over the Knicks. Although Philadelphia struggled in the first half and lost the first half by 12 points, they were able to rally after the long break and won the third quarter 31-17. Importantly, Joel Embiid bounced back from a career-worst performance against the Raptors (not scoring a point in 30+ minutes and missing all 11 of his shots from the floor). For the second game in a row, the 76ers' leading scorer dominated, adding 27 points and 17 rebounds against the Knicks and was the main culprit of the win.
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The 76ers currently rank 18th in the league in scoring (108.3 points per game), 6th in rebounding (47.1 per game), 5th in assists (26.2 per game) and 4th in points allowed (103.6 per game). Joel Embiid is the team's undisputed leader with 22.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Tobias Harris is averaging 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and Ben Simmons is averaging 12.8 points, 8.1 assists and 7 rebounds. Josh Richardson, acquired from the Miami Heat in the off-season, also plays an important role, scoring 16.1 points per game.
Indiana Pacers
Indiana is still waiting for the return of their leader V. Oladipo from injury. Although it is not yet fully clear when he will return, it should happen before the All-Star weekend, which would mean that Oladipo would still have plenty of time to play with the team before the playoffs and to get in good shape.
Last night, Indiana had a surprisingly tough game against one of the NBA's weakest teams, the Atlanta Hawks, who are in last place in the Eastern Conference with just 4 wins in 15 games. The Pacers, like the 76ers, had a 12-point deficit at the start of the second half last night, but managed to win the third quarter 29-11 and take the lead. One of the reasons for the close game was the Pacers' missed three-pointers (only 6 out of 26 attempts). It is also worth mentioning that the Pacers are not a good road team and after struggling at home against the Hawks, they may have created problems for themselves, as the next day they will have to play their direct competitors for a better position in the standings.
The Pacers are 16th in the league in scoring (109.3 points per game), 13th in the league in rebounding (45.9 per game), 10th in assists (24.9 per game) and 5th in the league in points allowed (103.8 per game), just 0.2 points behind the Philadelphia 76ers.
It's great to see Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis playing his career season for the Pacers, averaging 18.8 points and 13.2 rebounds, which is currently 5th in the NBA. Malcolm Brogdon, who joined the team in the off-season, is also looking solid with 18.8 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists per game. T.J. Warren, who comes from the Suns, is also looking good, adding 17.3 points per game.
Forecast
It will be a back-to-back game for both teams, but the 76ers had a much shorter trip and an easier game compared to the Pacers, who had to play overtime. Philadelphia hasn't lost on their home court yet this season, and given the circumstances today, they are also the clear favourites going into this game. Indiana is not a good road team, while Philly has only allowed more than 100 points at home 3 times in 8 meetings, so we can expect more slippery basketball than usual, and the 76ers dominance at home in overtime.
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