Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets.
Hornets vs. Pacers NBA Play-In Odds
| Hornets Odds | +3 |
| Pacers Odds | -3 |
| Moneyline | +130 / -155 |
| Over/Under | 228 (-110/-110) |
| Time | Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | TNT |
| Odds as of Monday evening and via DraftKings. | |
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The Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers will face off in Game 1 of the NBA Play-In Tournament this Tuesday night. Find their respective playoff odds as well as an overview of how they reached this point below.
Hornets NBA Playoff Odds
| Best Line | |
|---|---|
| NBA Playoff Odds: +450 | DraftKings |
| NBA Finals Odds: +25000 | PointsBet |
| NBA Title Odds: +50000 | PointsBet |
The Hornets have been one of the surprise teams of the East. Though they finished 10th in the conference as the last team in the NBA Play-In Tournament, but topped their preseason win total by 7.5 wins.
Charlotte has weathered its fair share of injuries this season. Gordon Hayward has been sidelined since April 3 with a foot injury. Likely Rookie of the Year winner, LaMelo Ball, missed 21 games with a wrist injury before returning at the beginning of May. And Devonte’ Graham has missed 17 games throughout the season.
Terry Rozier has been Charlotte’s most durable and reliable this season, posting career numbers multiple categories: 20.4 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, 1.3 steals per game and 45% shooting from the field. His impact has been crucial for the Hornets’ offense, which scores 110.9 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor vs. 104.4 when he’s off.
Having Ball back should have been a boost for the Hornets’ offense, but since his return to the lineup, the Hornets rank 24th in Offensive Rating.
As the last team in the play-in, the Hornets would need to win two road games to make the NBA Playoffs. Their 15-21 road record this season doesn’t inspire much confidence.
For what it’s worth, the Hornets’ NBA title odds are listed above the Grizzlies, Pacers and Spurs — and Charlotte surprised most by getting to this point. There is an outside chance that the Hornets could shock the NBA world again.
Pacers NBA Playoff Odds
| Best Line | |
|---|---|
| NBA Playoff Odds: +320 | DraftKings |
| NBA Finals Odds: +50000 | PointsBet |
| NBA Title Odds: +100000 | PointsBet |
The Pacers had injuries hanging over them since December — that’s been the recurring theme for Indiana all season.
T.J. Warren played four games before getting sidelined for the season. Victor Oladipo never looked right before he was traded away for Caris LeVert (who was immediately deactivated after a team physical found a cancerous mass in his kidney). Myles Turner is out for the season with a foot injury he suffered in April. Domantas Sabonis has been in and out of the lineup since April. And Malcolm Brogdon has missed the past 10 games entering the play-in games.
Indiana’s defense has taken the biggest hit without Turner. The Pacers ranked 11th in Defensive Rating before he first went down on April 7 and have been 21st in the 23 games since. They’ve played at the fastest pace in the NBA over that stretch as well (105.09), which has also made the over extremely profitable in their games — 16-7 (69.6%), according to our data at Action Labs.
The Pacers finished ninth so they have the benefit of a home game in the play-in game, but they still need to win twice just to make the playoffs. They have the second-longest odds to make the playoffs among the four teams in the East and the longest odds in the conference to make the NBA Finals.
If Brogdon and Sabonis are healthy, the Pacers would be much more competitive, but they are still a longshot to make noise in the postseason.
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