NBA Playoff Odds: Will the Pacers Make the Postseason?

Indiana Pacers NBA Playoff Odds

Entering Tuesday, the Pacers are just one game behind the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 8 seed in the East. Oddsmakers have the Pacers favored to make the postseason, but they are also -106 (51.46% implied odds) to miss.

The Hornets are dealing with injuries that could drop them out of the playoffs and the Pacers have the easiest strength of schedule among the teams they are competing against in the 7-10 range in the East. Despite that, there’s a number of things that would make me hesitant to bet them to make the playoffs.

The Pacers are missing Myles Turner for the foreseeable future with a partial tear of his plantar plate in the great toe of his right foot.  His loss is huge for the Pacers defensively as they were giving up 107.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor vs. 112.1 points per 100 possessions with him off the floor, per NBA Advanced Stats.

If there’s a flip-side to his injury, it’s that the Pacers are slightly better offensively with him off the floor by 2.2 points per 100 possessions. But overall they are still disappointing on that end.

For team that was supposed to modernize its offense under new head coach Nate Bjorkgren, the Indiana has fallen short of those aspirations this season. The Pacers rank 20th in 3-point shooting frequency, make just 35.8% of their attempts from deep (22nd) and are 18th in Offensive Rating, scoring 111.4 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass.

The Pacers have also dealt with injuries all season long. TJ Warren has played just four games this season and won’t return, Jeremy Lamb is dealing with a knee injury, and Domantas Sabonis is currently dealing with a back issue. Even their back ups like Goga Bitadze and Doug McDermott are question marks on a night-to-night basis — this is far from a healthy roster.

Justin Holiday is the only Pacers player who has played every game this season. You almost have to wonder if making a playoff push is even worth it for this team? The Pacers are a franchise that typically looks to earn a playoff spot at all costs, but at what point do they decide to throw in the towel and tank for a potential lottery pick?

With the Pacers struggling defensively without Turner, nursing a ton of injuries, it’s not far fetched to see this team on the outside of the Eastern playoff picture.

Lean: No

_BookPromo=321