The Indiana Pacers have now overtaken the Chicago Bulls by one-half game in the Central thanks to the Chicago defense disappearing lately. Take Indiana at home Wednesday.
First place in the Central Division for now is at stake Wednesday night when the Chicago Bulls (15-12, 7-5 away) pay a visit to the Indiana Pacers (16-12, 8-3 home) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN at 7:05 ET.
The point spread at 5 Dimes has Indiana as a decided home favorite for this contest with a current line of -5 at odds of -108.
Even though it was well known before the season that the Bulls would still be without former MVP Derrick Rose for a while, Chicago was still favored to win the Central and, truth be told, they are still in good shape sitting just one-half game out with Rose yet to suit up this year.
However, the reason for that optimism in Chicago was defense, and while the Bulls are still fourth in the NBA in scoring defense allowing 92.1 points per game, you would not know it from their recent performances. In fact, it is their division rival Pacers that currently lead the NBA in scoring defense at a scant 89.9 points per game, and that has also played a key role in Indiana taking the division lead.
The entire country watched the Chicago defense get torched on national television in a 120-97 loss to the Houston Rockets last night as Houston scored 58 points in the first half, and then instead of the Bulls stiffening defensively, the Rockets followed that up with 62 second-half points. Houston shot a blistering 56.1 percent for the game vs. a Bulls’ defense that ranks fourth in field goal percentage allowed at just 43.1 percent.
Opponents are shooting a blazing 48.8 percent vs. Chicago over the last three games with two of those opponents topping 100 points and the other shooting 49.4 percent in a 92-75 Chicago loss at Atlanta.
Last night’s loss dropped Chicago out of first place and the Bulls are now hitting the road without a day off to visit the new division leaders from Indiana that has been off since Saturday.
The Pacers are also without their leading scorer in Danny Granger, but because of the aforementioned defense Indiana has not missed a beat while winning three straight games and six of its last seven. The only Indiana loss in the last seven games was at Milwaukee, but the Pacers have still held those last seven opponents all under 100 points, and they held these Bulls to a mere 76 points in a nice road win in Chicago on December 4th.
Besides leading the NBA in scoring defense, the Pacers also lead in both field goal percentage against (40.8 percent) and three-point defense (31.0 percent), so it seems fair to say that Indiana has the best defense in the league right now and, unlike the Bulls, the Pacers have maintained that fine defensive form in recent games. Their last game Saturday was on the road in New Orleans, where they held the Hornets to 40.2 percent shooting in an 81-75 triumph.
The Pacers’ average winning margin at home this season has been +7.3 points, so look for Indiana to extend its narrow first place lead with a safe victory Wednesday.
The point spread at 5 Dimes has Indiana as a decided home favorite for this contest with a current line of -5 at odds of -108.
Even though it was well known before the season that the Bulls would still be without former MVP Derrick Rose for a while, Chicago was still favored to win the Central and, truth be told, they are still in good shape sitting just one-half game out with Rose yet to suit up this year. However, the reason for that optimism in Chicago was defense, and while the Bulls are still fourth in the NBA in scoring defense allowing 92.1 points per game, you would not know it from their recent performances. In fact, it is their division rival Pacers that currently lead the NBA in scoring defense at a scant 89.9 points per game, and that has also played a key role in Indiana taking the division lead.
The entire country watched the Chicago defense get torched on national television in a 120-97 loss to the Houston Rockets last night as Houston scored 58 points in the first half, and then instead of the Bulls stiffening defensively, the Rockets followed that up with 62 second-half points. Houston shot a blistering 56.1 percent for the game vs. a Bulls’ defense that ranks fourth in field goal percentage allowed at just 43.1 percent.
Opponents are shooting a blazing 48.8 percent vs. Chicago over the last three games with two of those opponents topping 100 points and the other shooting 49.4 percent in a 92-75 Chicago loss at Atlanta.
Last night’s loss dropped Chicago out of first place and the Bulls are now hitting the road without a day off to visit the new division leaders from Indiana that has been off since Saturday.
The Pacers are also without their leading scorer in Danny Granger, but because of the aforementioned defense Indiana has not missed a beat while winning three straight games and six of its last seven. The only Indiana loss in the last seven games was at Milwaukee, but the Pacers have still held those last seven opponents all under 100 points, and they held these Bulls to a mere 76 points in a nice road win in Chicago on December 4th.
Besides leading the NBA in scoring defense, the Pacers also lead in both field goal percentage against (40.8 percent) and three-point defense (31.0 percent), so it seems fair to say that Indiana has the best defense in the league right now and, unlike the Bulls, the Pacers have maintained that fine defensive form in recent games. Their last game Saturday was on the road in New Orleans, where they held the Hornets to 40.2 percent shooting in an 81-75 triumph.
The Pacers’ average winning margin at home this season has been +7.3 points, so look for Indiana to extend its narrow first place lead with a safe victory Wednesday.
NBA Pick: Pacers -5 (-108)
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