Pacers vs Lakers Odds, Picks, and Predictions Tonight: Indy Picks Up the Pace in Hollywood

The Indiana Pacers have begun to pick things up after a cold spell, and they’ll be asked to beat yet another quality opponent tonight when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers in the last game of the day.

The Lakers, too, have found their form once again in the last couple of weeks with four wins in six tries including a few over quality opponents. This one promises to be a great game and Los Angeles is installed as a slight home favorite in the NBA odds.

Let's get right into it with our in-depth preview and NBA picks for Pacers vs. Lakers on Sunday, March 24.

Pacers vs Lakers odds

Pacers vs Lakers predictions

There’s no sugar-coating it, this Indiana Pacers team simply isn’t the same one we’ve seen all year. After losing Bennedict Mathurin to injury earlier in the month, the Pacers have found a way to level and win games but the offense still ranks 15th in the NBA since the start of March with an efficiency rating that’s five points off their season-long output, which ranks second in the league.

The glaring weakness here has come from beyond the arc, where Mathurin’s impact was felt the most. Indiana has knocked down just 33% of its looks from deep this month in a drastic turnaround, though things have remained stable at the rim and in the mid-range.

Here’s the thing, though. The Los Angeles Lakers have been a team we’ve loved attacking at the arc with teams that can shoot the 3-ball, but they’ve made improvements in that area and grade out as the 15th-best team in the NBA in defending the arc in March, according to Cleaning the Glass. 

The Pacers have followed a similar arc, taking one of the worst 3-point defenses in the NBA and turning it into a strength this month, winning games with defense rather than offense. Together with a frontcourt that has continued to defend well, Indiana suddenly isn’t the defensive liability we’ve come to know and love as bettors.

L.A. has been a complete offense for the better part of two and a half months now, but if you take away its ability to score at the rim, which the Pacers should be capable of, and pair that with improved marks against the three, this team suddenly looks a lot less terrifying given the state of the defense, even with better marks against the 3-point shot.

A matchup with the Lakers is just what the Pacers' ice-cold shooters need, and I like backing a team that has gone 21-13-2 against the spread an underdog this season against one that is 16-24 ATS when laying points.

My best bet: Pacers +3 (-108 at DraftKings)

Pacers vs Lakers same-game parlay

Pacers moneyline

Tyrese Haliburton 3+ made threes

Myles Turner 2+ blocks

+530 at FanDuel

I’ll take a bigger swing on the Pacers here and be as bold as to say they’ll win this game on the road. They’re an impressive 19-17 straight up as underdogs and have a ton of ways to win this game given the recent trends for both sides.

I desperately want to back these guards on Indiana to turn things around from the arc, and there is no better player to take a discount on here than Tyrese Haliburton. The sharpshooter has shot just 21.1% from deep this month but is still taking roughly seven shots per game from outside and in an encouraging turn he managed to hit four threes last time out in a big win over Golden State. We can get a splendid line on him to knock down just three here, and I love it.

Then, I’m going to take another swing here and back Myles Turner to turn back two shots. The Lakers thrive at the rim and should be sending the ball inside all game long, and we have noted while the Pacers have done a better job recently of stopping the 3-pointer, this is the real strength of this defense. Turner is averaging 1.8 blocks per game in his career against the Lakers and has recorded two or more in each of his last four meetings against L.A.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Pacers vs Lakers spread and Over/Under analysis

The opening number here was around four points in the Lakers’ favor, and we saw a quick correction to Lakers -3 before a brief buyback on the home team early on Sunday that brought the line back to four. Well, we’ve only seen things head back the other direction since the day has worn on, with the most recent move taking this down three points across the board with a strong chance it closes even shorter.

As you might guess, while just 45% of the spread tickets at DraftKings are on the Pacers to cover, 58% of the handle is headed that way.

The total has been a bit of a different story. The number opened up at 241 points and after a move to 242 points for a few hours the number came back down to 241 before settling back around 241.5. Despite this, pretty much all the bets and money (71% and 72%, respectively) are on the Over.

Pacers vs Lakers betting trend to know

The Indiana Pacers have covered the 2Q Spread in 25 of their last 39 away games (+12.15 Units / 27% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Pacers vs. Lakers.

Pacers vs Lakers game info

Pacers vs Lakers latest injuries

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