Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers (11-8) before the match with the Charlotte Hornets team had won 2 games in a row and it seemed that winning in Charlotte should not be a big challenge. However, the Hornets had other plans and the team, playing excellently as a team, won at home. The good performance of D. Sabonis, who has become the team's leader this season, did not save the Indiana Pacers – the Lithuanian scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and made 6 assists in 37 minutes. To win in Charlotte, Indiana really lacked good three-point shooting, as only 11 out of 35 three-pointers were made. M. Brogdon, who has taken the most three-pointers in the Indiana Pacers team this season, also struggled – the guard made only 3 shots out of 10 attempts.

However, the loss in Charlotte should not be overemphasized, as just the day before, the Pacers team had won by a 10-point margin, and it is known that it is harder to win twice against the same opponent. This season, Indiana has improved its scoring and currently ranks 11th in the entire league, averaging 113.3 points per game. The main problem for the team is poor rebounding – the Indiana team averages only 42.6 rebounds per game, which is the 29th result in the entire league.

Speaking of the team's strengths, team play is still promoted in the team, and the nominal leaders of the team are considered to be Malcolm Brogdon (22.7 points, 7.2 assists) and Domantas Sabonis (20.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists). Also, T.J. Warren, who integrated well into the team last season, is also averaging 15.5 points this season, but the biggest progress has been made by D. McDermott, who not only averages 13 points per game but also has very high synergy with other team players, which is simply obvious when watching Pacers games.

In this match, the Indiana team will be without T.J. Warren and C. LeVert, and it is still unclear whether D. McDermott will play.

Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers (14-8) are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing the closest competitor, the Brooklyn Nets, by 2 losses. The 76ers will enter this match after two consecutive victories: 107-106 at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, and a 118-94 away game thrashing of the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the match against the Timberwolves, J. Embiid absolutely dominated, not only scoring 37 points but also grabbing 11 rebounds. Overall, Embiid's form in recent weeks looks impressive – averaging nearly 30 points and more than 11 rebounds. It will be very interesting to see how Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner's tandem will manage to handle this big man.

This season, the Philadelphia team's offense is 9th in the entire league, averaging 113.6 points per game. Unlike the Pacers team, the 76ers excel in rebounding and currently rank 9th in the league, averaging 46.1 rebounds per game. While J. Embiid (28.3 points, 11.1 rebounds) is simply dominating this season, the team's addition of Danny Green and Seth Curry (14.3 points) has significantly reduced Ben Simmons' contribution to the team's play (12.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists). There was a lot of talk about Simmons possibly being involved in J. Harden's trade, which also negatively affected this player's performances on the court, but now that everything has been resolved, it can be expected that Simmons will return to his usual rhythm and not only score more points but also be more aggressive in offense, as passivity is now clearly visible.

Prediction

Just like in previous seasons, the Philadelphia team plays much better at home than away. This season, out of 9 away games, the 76ers have won only 4, and these victories were against teams with a negative win/loss ratio. The Indiana Pacers do not dominate at home this season as they did in previous seasons, but they look confident and have a positive win/loss ratio. The loss to the Charlotte team should only further motivate the team to win against direct opponents in the fight for a better place in the Eastern Conference standings.