PACERS THREAD FROM A LOCAL

Lean Pacers -2.5 for a side...I
Can see Boston giving up and putting in bench, but when that happens all bets are unpredictable.

Nice job with the unders Alan. Wish I didnt fade your Pacers tonight. Thought boston would shoot a higher %. I wonder if they'll have a letdown tomorrow. I'm showing indy -5.5 tomorrow vs the lowly Nets. Looks like the lines too low. Curious to know your thoughts on that one but I'm sure you'll post when the time comes. GL

Sent you a friend request alan.  Got a question

Sent you a message CMC...looking forward to talking with you 

Write up to come later.  1h under...pacers -6.5

Sorry about the late write up.  It's my birthday today so I've been running around a lot.  Getting ready to eat my birthday steak dinner in front of a roaring fire, surrounded by bourbon and wine, watching sports all night.  

Nets have been scoring a lot of points lately.  Against the hard-nosed defenses of Philly, Washington, Detroit, LAC, Boston, NYK, and Denver...(sarcastic font). 

Lopez is out for the year now, and even with him in there they rank 28th in rebounding.  Pacers should dominate the inside.  Pacers starters got a lot of rest last night, and should be ready to rock.  Paul George should be able to make life difficult for Paul Pierce, and Lance can matchup against Joe Johnson to pester him.  Deron Williams should be able to outplay George Hill, but I don't see where he's going to pass the ball to get all those assists.  Garnett can do damage from outside since West struggles with outside shooting forwards, but other than that I see a Pacers team that should overwhelm the Nets.  Pacers may try and run early, but I think they know that they are just flat out better than the Nets in the half court and they could make this a slow it down game and pound their offense and inside game making less possessions for both teams.  Not sure how the Nets will get out and run without Lopez in there rebounding and defending.  There could be some streaks of lots of points being scored, but I like the Pacers to win here.

Of course, going with the OH system...starting off with 1h under here as well.  GL tonight gents!!!  I'll see if there will be a good 2h play warranted as well.

Agree with the under, have a good one! 

Happy birthday, may all your bets come in today!

Good luck   and  Happy Birthday!   

Going to take the under 101, and a little bit on Pacers -2.  They've been a great 2h team...haven't seen much from the Nets tonight to make me think they keep this close.

alan , this was very strange.  in both meetings between the pacers and nets, both played at brooklyn, the 1st half total was sharply shaded under.  the first game , first half total 90 and 2nd half 97 = full game 187, and tonight, 1st half 96, 2nd half 101 to make 197

as u know most games the first half total is half the full game with maybe a half point to a full point added.  for some reason this matchup took a full 2 points or more lower than half the full game total.  very strange. 

for example , yesterdays game vs boston, the first half line was also 96 even though the full game total was 189.5.

Dion

Maybe the books are catching on that the Pacers 1h under is bad for them and they are trying to compensate.  Surely we can't be the only ones that noticed the Pacers 1h under trend.

yes but if that was the case , the 1st half total would have been 98 instead of 96 yesterday.  either way, the pacers next six games all against under .500 teams.  although they play toronto twice, and the craptors have been competitive against the pacers lately

Since the Pacers haven't played in forever, I've been getting the bug to write something so I thought I'd write a few thoughts I've had about the NBA so far.  Good way to start some discussion...and probably have some guys disagree with me and tell me I'm an idiot. 

1.  Slowly I can see Doc Rivers getting his mental toughness through to the Clippers, especially Blake Griffin.  I've never believed in the Clippers.  Before Doc took over they were more interested in dunking than winning.  I see Blake playing harder and tougher than he has in the past, especially on defense.  If they keep improving, they are going to be legit contenders in the West.  They aren't there yet, but they are close.

2.  Player having a fantastic year nobody is talking about:  Jeff Teague.  He's playing great, and I believe is the most improved player this year.  Averaging 17-2-8.  The Hawks are still irrelevant, and will get killed by either the Pacers or Heat in the playoffs, but Teague is playing great ball.

3.  Below average team nobody in the East wants to play in the Playoffs:  Detroit Pistons.  This isn't a team built for regular season success, but they can be a matchup nightmare in a series.  If Smith gets hot, and their bigs play well...they could upset any top tier team in a series.

4.  Below average team nobody in the West wants to play in the Playoffs:  Memphis Grizzlies.  They seem to have this label every year, but once they get healthy they can be lethal.  It will be tough for them to make the playoffs, but if they get the 8 seed with a healthy front line they can give the 1 seed a long hard series.

5.  Michael Carter Williams has a chance to be the next superstar in the league.  He's a rookie and it shows, but I've seen him play several times, and when he's on nobody can stop him.  He's on a weird team that doesn't seem to have a plan, but their plan can be to build around him.  He's legit and unbelievably talented.

6.  Can somebody in OKC start working with Serge Ibaka on his inside game instead of letting him shoot 3's?  So far he's shooting over 40% on 3 pointers and that's great...but why?  That percentage won't last, and he still doesn't have post up offensive moves and he plays in the Western Conference where only a couple teams even know how to play interior defense.  He's 6'10'' 265 lbs, and they have him shooting outside shots with Durant and Westbrook.  I don't get it.

7.  NBA is considering getting rid of conferences and just taking the best 16 teams in the playoffs instead of division winners, etc.  If that was the case, right now the East would have roughly 4 teams in.

8.  Most talented guy in the league who's career is being wasted away cause his organization is a joke:  Demarcus Cousins.  He's averaging 23-11 and shooting 50% from the field.  I know he's got a reputation for having "attitude problems"...but seriously, if you were as talented as him, and played on that team with absolutely no hope of winning...you'd have a bad attitude too.  If somehow that guy gets on a legit team with real coaches, a real locker room, and a real shot at winning...he's the type of guy that can win a team a championship.  Imagine if you were one of the top 20 chefs in the world.  You've worked your entire life to become the best chef ever, and you'd perfected your cooking and recipes.  But right when you hit the prime of your career you had to cook at Applebees.  Love his game...feel bad for him.

9.  ESPN has the Clippers ranked as the third best team in the league.  Ahead of Portland, Miami, and San Antonio.  You gotta be kidding me.

10.  Lebron shooting 60% from the field right now is one of the most amazing things I've seen in the NBA.  I don't think people quite get how incredible you have to be to shoot as much as he does and hit 60% of those shots.  If anyone votes for anyone else as MVP, they need their voting rights taken away.  Dude is more important to his team then anyone else, and it's not even close.  Still think Miami is asking too much of him, and it will hurt them this year in the playoffs, but what that guy is doing is unreal.

Anyway, those are my ramblings...feel free to comment, disagree or completely ignore.  I love good discussion. 

Very astute observations.  Read them all and can't really disagree with any.  Keep up the good work.

A point is disagree with is jeff teague.offsively he has been great;but defensively?I dont like him at all in the defensive end...only my pint of view.
I agree with the pistons,the have a good team this year.For me,the acquisition of jennings was a move they shouln't have done...the chemistry isn t good with him,he shoots too much and he'average in defensive end.Even if Knight wasn't much better though...

Alan you like the 1H under tonight w your boys?

Pacers at Nets

Thought the oddsmakers would give the Nets a little love after winning last night, but the 13 pt spread would show the oddsmakers don't like them at all.

Hard to disagree.  Nets are terrible.  I'm trying to figure out what Kidd is doing with his lineups and rotations, but it's baffling.  I know injuries have hurt this team, but there's no excuse to be this bad.  Lopez and Blatche out is huge against the Pacers, and even though Pierce played decent last night, he's been out with injuries and this a back to back situation.  This is obviously a potential blowout situation, and I gotta be honest...13 points sounds even a little low.  I'm actually going to take a little bit on the Pacers -13.  Kidd has decided to go with a small lineup with Garnett being the big man on the starting lineup and Reggie Evans and Plumlee being their big men off the bench.  Garnett guarding Roy Hibbert...and that leaves Paul Pierce or Joe Johnson to guard David West...and the other one to try and keep up with Paul George.  Then either Deron Williams or Livingston gets to guard Lance Stephenson.  Just about every matchup is bad for the Nets.  Then if the Pacers bench comes in, Garnett still has to play center and that leaves somebody else to try and stop Scola.  Just too many matchup nightmares for the Nets...even if the Pacers bench comes in.  I guess stranger things have happened, but the Nets are just going to have to play defense better than they've ever played because they aren't going to be able to rebound much.  And on offense they are just going to have hit threes all night long.

Playing 1h under, as well as Nets 1h under 45...taking a little on Pacers -13 as well.  I'll probably never lay a number this big the rest of the year, but the matchup warrants it. 

Been awful on player props this year, but going to try Hibbert again...
over 21.5 pts + reb.

Good point on Teague.  He's a bit of a liability on defense...I just really like how his offensive game has evolved.

I actually like Jennings as a playoff piece.  Yes, he shoots a lot, but if he gets going in a series it's a huge advantage for the Pistons.  If he's not shooting well hopefully they are smart enough to just sit him and let the bigs do their thing.  Still think they aren't a great regular season team, but a tough out in the East.  I know the Pacers and the Heat don't want to see them in a best of 7 series. 

TT U90 for Brooklyn Alan? 

Good luck alan! Really like Nets 1h under, I'm on it as well...