Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks (ESPN)
Indiana (27-14) travel to New York (10-31) in the first of ESPN’s Saturday double-header.
The Pacers have been rolling lately, winning seven of their past nine games. They dropped two of their past three, but were without Myles Turner (shoulder) to considerably weaken them on the defensive end. Both of those losses came on the road to the Celtics and Raptors.
Turner remains doubtful in this one, but Domantas Sabonis is a great reinforcement who provides more offensively. The Lithuanian big man is averaging 15.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists this season as one of the leading Sixth Man of the Year candidates.
Excluding those recent road losses without Turner, Indiana are 21-5 against Eastern Conference opponents.
New York are a mess right now. David Fizdale seems to roll out a different lineup every game and Enes Kanter, arguably their best player, voiced displeasure with his bench role last week. Meanwhile, Tim Hardaway Jr is battling plantar fasciitis.
The Knicks have dropped 10 of their last 11 games and have not won at Madison Square Garden since a December 2 two-point victory over the Bucks.
In their most recent game, the Knicks fell to the Warriors on the road 95-122.
Last time these teams met on in Indiana on December 17, the Pacers won 110-99 behind the lead of Victor Oladipo (26 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five steals) and Turner (24 points, two blocks).
Tip: Indiana -8.0 @ $1.85.
Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors
The Nets (21-22) visit Toronto (31-12) in a division rival matchup.
It’s hard to believe the Nets are currently sitting sixth in the East, such is the climate of the conference. You have to credit Kenny Atkinson’s team for getting by for much of the season without Caris LeVert following that horrific foot injury. The emerging combo guard is expected to be back on the court in the next month or so.
Brooklyn have won four of their last five games behind the stellar play of D’Angelo Russell, averaging 20.2 points, 7.4 assists and 2.6 threes over that period while shooting 47 per cent from the field. The former Laker is starting to deliver on his potential and leading the Nets on their playoff push.
They should not give the Raptors too much trouble though, as Nick Nurse’s team have won four of their past five, with the one loss coming in Boston.
Toronto has been without Jonas Valanciunas and Kyrle Lowry during this recent stretch that has seen them drop to second in the East, behind but you would expect them to start rolling again now at near full strength.
Last time they met in Brooklyn on December, the Nets took this one 106-105 in overtime with Lowry and Valanciunas. Kawhi Leonard posted a game-high 32 points, while Russell poured in 29 of his own.
Tip: Toronto -6.5 @ $1.56.
LA Lakers at Utah Jazz (ESPN)
The Lakers (23-19) head to Utah (21-21) in the second of ESPN’s double-header.
This one figures to shape the Western Conference standings, with LA sitting just two games ahead of the Jazz in eighth and ninth place respectively.
Quin Snyder’s team have been inconsistent and hard to trust this season. Whenever it has looked like Utah will go on a run, they have dropped games to average teams. This might finally be their emergence, having won four of their past games, but consider that they came against the Knicks, Cavs, Pistons and Magic.
They are currently thin the backcourt with Ricky Rubio (hamstring) and Dante Exum (ankle) both sidelined, so look for Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles to pick up the slack.
The Lakers have struggled without LeBron James (groin) and have gone 3-5 since the star forward went down. Kyle Kuzma has been huge since his return from a back complaint, pouring in a career-high 41 points in their 113-100 home win over the Pistons on Thursday (AEST).
In their last meeting, the Lakers took the 90-83 win at home as LeBron (22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) and Brandon Ingram (24 points) led the way.Ingles tallied 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Tip: Utah -4.5 @ $1.45.
