<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4PpMLd_0wOEbAUa00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4PpMLd_0wOEbAUa00" width="1280" height="853" ><figcaption>Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) is defended by Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. AP</figcaption></figure>We’re just a few games into the NBA season, and the 1-1 Indiana Pacers are hosting the 0-2 Philadelphia 76ers. This game will mark the Pacers home opener. They are coming off a 123-98 loss on the road to the New York Knicks.Meanwhile, the 76ers have lost 124-109 to the Milwaukee Bucks and 115-107 to the Toronto Raptors. At the time of this write-up, the odds for this game across the <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/betting/reviews/">best PA sportsbooks</a> weren’t available.Nonetheless, I’ll walk us through some of the early storylines and make my prediction below.<h2>The 76ers continue to navigate injuries</h2>Heading into this game, 76ers fans would love to see their monstrous trio of Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid on the court, but that’s unfortunately not going to happen. Philadelphia is currently +260 moneyline underdogs on <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/betting/reviews/draftkings/">DraftKings Sportsbook.</a> George and Embiid are sidelined due to knee injuries. George could be back after this road trip, but for now, he’s out.Thus, Maxey will be the leader on offense with a starting five that also includes Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin, and Andre Drummond.Maxey discord 25 on opening night and followed that up with a 24-point performance against Toronto.In the first game of the season, Oubre Jr. added 21, but no other player could crack 13 points.In the second game of the season, Maxey and Oubre Jr. each scored at least 24.The 76ers defense is allowing teams to shoot at a 50% clip. Regardless of who’s out there, allowing that level of shooting isn’t going to end well. That’s tied for third-worst in the NBA.Kelly Oubre Jr. is +420 to hit +4 three-pointers on <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/betting/reviews/fanduel/">FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>They’re shooting 40.2% from the field, 26th in the NBA as a unit.Heading into this one, I’ll assume the 76ers are slight underdogs and understandably so. The Pacers are slightly better than them in some key categories and substantially better in others (more on that below).<h2>Can the Pacers Three-Point shooting catch up?</h2>As mentioned, the 76ers allow teams to shoot 50% from the floor.The Pacers, through two games, are shooting 50% from the floor, ranking fourth in the NBA.The Pacers have been excellent from the floor, but their major flaw through two games has been shooting from three-point range.They’re shooting just 19.7% from the floor, which is third-worst in the NBA, behind only Washington and Denver.The Pacers allow teams to shoot 47.7% from the floor, but the 76ers may not be able to take advantage of that as they shoot closer to 40%.All this being said, the Pacers looked dreadful against the Knicks. Tyrese Haliburton scored zero points across 26 minutes.The 76ers shoot 28.3% from three-point range, which is seventh-worst in the league, but still nearly 10% better.We’ll see what happens in the three-point shooting game, though. The Pacers allow opponents to shoot at a 35% clip, while the 76ers are at 36.7%.We know the Pacers can shoot from the floor well overall, but can they improve from three-point range?They will; this is their home opener against a fairly weak defense.<h2>76ers vs. Pacers prediction</h2>While the odds aren’t out yet, I estimate the Pacers will be between 4-to-4.5-point favorites at home.The 76ers and Pacers are averaging similar points, though Indiana dipped below 100 against the Knicks.Still, that came in a historically bad performance from players like Maxey.The Pacers are the better shooting team in the three-point range, but the 76ers defense will allow them to get the three-point shooting game going.The 76ers aren’t shooting all too well right now, and they’re dealing with injuries to major stars.Here, I’ll go with the Pacers. I think some positive regression is coming after a seriously bad start from behind the arch.The Pacers are 12 of 61.Two players haven’t hit one at all and three that have only hit one:<ul><li>Haliburton: 1 of 16</li><li>Pascal Siakam: 1 of 7</li><li>Aaron Nesmith: 1 of 3</li></ul>This stops against the 76ers, and the Pacers will win this matchup.While those of us eager to do some <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/betting/">Pennsylvania sports betting</a> don’t yet know the odds for this game, I’m willing to take the Pacers at 4.5 points or less.</div></body>

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76ers vs. Pacers: Betting preview, odds, and prediction

We’re just a few games into the NBA season, and the 1-1 Indiana Pacers are hosting the 0-2 Philadelphia 76ers. This game will mark the Pacers home opener. They are coming off a 123-98 loss on the road to the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the 76ers have lost 124-109...

76ers vs. Pacers: Betting preview, odds, and prediction

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