NBA Picks: Why You Should Back the Pacers, Fade the Lakers

Prop Bets to Consider Today

The player prop bets are 54-44 making $735.50 for the season wagering $50 per prop. 

Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers

10:40 EDT Tip-Off 

Line: Lakers –3   Total: 237 points 

I am betting on the Pacers plus 3-points at  DraftKings Sportsbook and is a valid bet up to and including 4.5 points tonight 

The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to play better in large part to the return of LeBron James. After missing five games because of a lower leg injury James returned to action and was a big part of the Lakers' back-to-back wins over the San Antonio Spurs. Let's not get ahead of ourselves with the back-to-back wins as the Spurs have the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 6-15 straight-up and 9-12 against the spread (ATS). The Pacers will provide a much more difficult test for the Lakers to come away with a win tonight as they rank fourth-best in the Eastern Conference with an 11-8 record and 12-7 ATS mark.

The following situational trends and angles from my predictive model support a best bet on the Pacers plus the points 

• The Pacers' head coach Rick Carlisle is 28 - 11 ATS in road games when coming off an upset loss as a road favorite in all games he has coached in his career.
• Carlisle is 77-50 a TS1 playing the second road game on back-to-back nights for his career.
• The Lakers are a money-burning 20-40 on the moneyline losing 24 units when facing solid teams that are averaging 23 or more assists per game in games played over the last two seasons.

Other Games on My Radar 

Atlanta +1.5 vs Philadelphia 

• The 76ers head coach Doc Rivers is 28-13-1 ATS when his team is playing their fourth game over the past 10 days.

Minnesota +1.5 vs Washington 

• Washington is 7  so-20 ATS after failing to cover this spread in three of their last four games in all games played over the last two seasons
   

These are the Player Prop Bets I Like on Today’s schedule 

The player prop bets are 49-43 making $585.50 for the season wagering $50 per prop.