The Indiana Pacers will host the Houston Rockets in a cross-conference matchup on Tuesday's NBA schedule. Indiana is 28-23 overall and 16-10 at home, while Houston is 23-26 overall and 5-17 on the road. The Pacers have won each of the last eight meetings between the teams, including a 123-117 road victory on Dec. 26. Indiana is 28-21-3 against the spread in the 2023-24 NBA season, while Houston is 25-22-2 versus the line.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Indiana is favored by 7.5 points in the latest Pacers vs. Rockets odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 242 points. Before entering any Rockets vs. Pacers picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 16 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 51-33 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $1,700. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Houston vs. Indiana. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Rockets vs. Pacers:
- Pacers vs. Rockets spread: Pacers -7.5
- Pacers vs. Rockets over/under: 242 points
- Pacers vs. Rockets money line: Pacers: -299, Rockets: +241
- Pacers vs. Rockets picks: See picks at SportsLine
What you need to know about the Pacers
The Pacers came into Sunday's match having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They took down the Charlotte Hornets 115-99. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 16 more assists than your opponent, as the Pacers did. Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Pacers to victory, but perhaps none more so than Pascal Siakam, who almost dropped a double-double on 25 points and nine assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Aaron Nesmith, who had 22 points with eight rebounds.
After leading the NBA in offensive rating for much of the season, Indiana has dropped to third in that regard, though it still leads the league in points per game. Tyrese Haliburton's absence has played a part in that as he's missed 13 games, and the two-time All-Star selection is questionable (hamstring) for Tuesday. He's been on a minutes restriction over the last four games, never playing more than 22 minutes in any of them, so Indiana's offense won't be able to reach its full potential again until he's fully healthy. See which team to pick here.
What you need to know about the Rockets
Meanwhile, the Rockets managed to keep up with the Minnesota Timberwolves until halftime on Sunday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Houston suffered a grim 111-90 defeat, and after having soared to a lofty 135 points in the game before, the Rockets' point total in this one was quite the letdown.
Fred VanVleet struggled in the loss, scoring just 11 points, and he's out on Tuesday (adductor), while Tari Eason (leg) is out as well. Thus, Houston's success will lie even more so on the defensive end which has been its calling card all season. The Rockets rank fifth in defensive rating under new head coach Ime Udoka after ranking 29th in defensive rating last season. Houston is 1-0-1 against the spread in its two games without VanVleet this season. See which team to pick here.
Key Betting Info
Some of the betting trends to consider are:
- The Rockets are 6-12-1 against the spread in their last 19 games as the road underdog.
- The Rockets are 3-6-1 against the spread in their last 10 games vs teams that win 45-55 percent of games.
- The Pacers are 26-13-3 against the spread in their last 42 games after a day off.
How to make Pacers vs. Rockets picks
The model has simulated Rockets vs. Pacers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that hits in almost 70% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Pacers vs. Rockets, and which side of the spread hits almost 70% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Rockets vs. Pacers spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 51-33 roll on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
