Defending Champs vs New Blood

Now that we’re about halfway through the NBA season, the collection of real contenders is starting to take shape. While newcomers like Minnesota and OKC still need to prove they can carry their winning ways into April and beyond, a team like Denver is stamped. Regardless of how they play in January and February, we know what Jokic and co. are capable of turning it on when it matters most 🃏

Enter the new-look Pacers, who I wouldn’t necessarily place in the aforementioned group of contenders, but rather a young, promising team that is poised to make some noise in the next handful of years 🤝

• Under the steady and often, electric, reins of Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana plays with the speed and firepower of the seven-seconds-or-less Suns

• Carrying the momentum of their early season success, which was capped off by a trip to the IST finals, the Pacers decided to pull the trigger on Pascal Siakam, Toronto’s do-it-all wing who complements Myles Turner in the frontcourt, while providing a pressure release valve for Hali

• Siakam will offer defense, rebounding, and secondary creation for a team that needed all three

Fortunately, we are being treated to marquee matchup between Indiana and Denver tonight. Unfortunately, it will not be included in TNT’s double-header, which only goes to show that the broader basketball world did not see the Pacers’ success coming 😏

• It is important to note that Haliburton, who has missed several games in January, was listed as questionable for tonight’s contest

• The Pacer’s have a thin frontline, literally — Jalen Smith and Myles Turner do not offer a bruising paint presence, but rather spread the floor — so containing Jokic will be a tall order

• With that being said, Indiana’s offense is something the Nuggets will have to either match or attempt to stifle in the same way they did to the Celtics (they won 102-100 on Friday). The good news is that Denver is capable of both

In the event that Haliburton plays, I like the over in this game. Both teams are capable of exploding and I expect the pace of this matchup to be blistering

Nuggets @ Pacers Betting Preview

• Spread: Nuggets -3

• Moneyline: Nuggets -144, Pacers +122

• Over/Under: 242.5

Trivia Question: Tyrese Haliburton is on pace to average 12 APG. Who was the last player to do the same?

For My Parlay Gurus

Like I said earlier, I’m expecting a lot of points from tonight’s game between the Nuggets and Pacers, so I’m taking the over. Additionally, Denver seems to be clicking right now, demonstrating why they are the defending the title, so I like them to cover spread as well 👇

• Nuggets -3 @ Pacers: -112

• Over 242.5 Total Points: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win an Overtime hoodie*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: John Stockton averaged over 12 APG in the 1994-95 season. Only five players in NBA history have reached that figure, including Stockton, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Johnson and Kevin Porter

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