Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers 1/25/21 - NBA Picks & Predictions

The Toronto Raptors travel on the road to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to take on the Indiana Pacers. The Raptors have won five of their last six and beat the Pacers in the first game of a back to back yesterday winning 107-102 to improve to 7-9 on the year. It was the Pacers’ third loss in their last four games after beating Orlando in overtime the game before, they dropped to 9-7 on the year.

Indiana is a top-10 scoring offense in the NBA this season coming in at 10th averaging 113.3 points per game. As a unit, the Pacers are shooting 47.7% from the field but have struggled from three making just 35.6% of their attempts from beyond the arc. It’s a balanced scoring attack but lacks a true superstar scoring threat. 

Malcolm Brogdon is leading the team in scoring from the point guard position, he’s been efficient enough shooting 46.5% from the field and averaging 22.5 points per game. Brogdon isn’t ever afraid to share the ball either, dishing out 7.2 assists per game. In the paint it’s Domantis Sabonis, he’s averaging a double-double with 21.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while shooting an efficient 55.4% from the field. 

The Raptors have struggled offensively this season but they have been one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the NBA this season. Although they come in ranked 19th in the NBA in scoring offense averaging 110.5 points per game, the depth can cause problems for opposing teams as any of their top-3 can go off at any time. 

The Raptors “Big-3” of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and veteran point-guard Kyle Lowry have been solid but underperformed in the early season. VanVleet is the team’s leading scorer this season averaging 18.9 points and dishing out 6.54 assists per game. Siakam, who inked a massive contract extension this season, is averaging 18.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Point guard Kyle Lowry is the team leader in assists with 7.1 and adds 18.2 points per game. 

Toronto has been a stout defensive unit this season allowing 108.7 points per game ranking 7th in the NBA in scoring defense with opposing teams shooting 45.1% from the field. Indiana is allowing 111.3 points per game, the 17th ranked scoring defense, and opposing teams are hooting 46.9% from the field.