Myles Turner and the Indiana Pacers play host to Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, with tipoff from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis set for 7 p.m. ET. After some drama surrounding their handling of Davis' minutes heading into the All-Star break, the Pelicans said they won't shut down the big man down the stretch. However, they did mention that both A.D. and Jrue Holiday will have their minutes scaled back as the season goes on. Will that come to fruition Friday against Indiana, or could these comments cause the Pelicans to be undervalued by Vegas? Indianapolis is listed as a six-point home favorite, while the over-under for total points scored is 222 in the latest Pacers vs. Pelicans odds. Before you make any Pacers vs. Pelicans picks of your own, check out the NBA predictions from SportsLine's projection model.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks this season. It entered Week 19 of the 2018-19 NBA season with a sterling 217-164 record on all top-rated picks, returning more than $4,000 to anybody following them. And it has been particularly red-hot on its A-rated NBA picks against the spread, entering Week 19 on a blistering 44-30 run. Anybody who has followed it is way up.
Now it has locked in on Pacers vs. Pelicans. We can tell you it's leaning under, and it also has locked in a confident against-the-spread pick that hits in nearly 60 percent of simulations. You can only see that selection at SportsLine.
The model is well aware that the Pacers have won six of seven games to close the first half. Even without Victor Oladipo, Indiana has managed to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, staving off the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
They've been effective at home this season, posting a 22-8 record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. New Orleans, meanwhile, has struggled to find wins on the road, going 9-22. Meanwhile, Indiana is 5-0 in their past five home games against teams with losing records.
But just because Indiana has been unstoppable at home this year doesn't mean it will cover the Pacers vs. Pelicans spread on Friday.
The model is also well aware that while New Orleans hasn't been as hot as the Pacers, they entered the All-Star break having covered the spread in six of their past nine games.
The Pelicans have covered six straight against the Pacers and showed in their most recent game that they can pull off upsets, even with Davis playing limited minutes. A.D. was in for just 15 minutes, but New Orleans still was able to pull out a nine-point victory over a red-hot Thunder team. They were led by Julius Randle, who dropped 33 points, 11 rebounds and six assists against OKC.
So who wins Pelicans vs. Pacers? And which side of the spread hits in nearly 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Pelicans vs. Pacers spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.