Orlando is coming from three consecutive offensive games, where they had offensive rates of 107, 119.5 and 110.7. Their only subpar game so far this season was at Indiana, the league's best defense. The way Orlando has been good on offense is a bit weird, after all they are just #26 on assists per FG made! The key for their success has been their very good outside shooting with a combined of 37-85 (43.5%) 3pts. They have also been very competent on pick and rolls and spot ups, a sign of good shooting. This is actually a good sign for them for tonight's game against a Clippers defense that has been disappointing. I believe that's natural, as they are so good on offense that they relax on defense. Thanks to that, the Clippers are allowing 42.4% 3pts and against a backourt defense where Chris Paul is the only good defender, Orlando should score some points tonight.
Regarding the Clippers offense, the 27, 27, 26 and 33 assists on their first four games show how good their offensive flow has been so far on this season. Chris Paul has been crushing his individual opponents this season and Jameer Nelson won't be the exception. Orlando is undersized on the frontcourt and so, the Clippers will outrebound them in here. But looking at the Los Angeles -> Orlando trip that the Clippers had to make on Monday, added with the fact that Orlando is quite confident right now, I believe that LAC -7 is indeed the fair line in here.
Game Preview: Chicago Bulls @ Indiana Pacers
Indiana is coming from their best game of the season last night, where they defeated Detroit on the road by playing three great quarters and a horrible second quarter. On the frontcourt battle, there was no clear winner. Indiana shot 18-25 FG at the rim versus 18-28 FG from Detroit, but the worst for the Pacers was their poor 12.1% offensive rebound rate, in comparison with 24.1% from Detroit! Indiana won the game on the backcourt, as they shot 9-21 (43%) 3pts, while Detroit shot a poor 5-25 (20%) 3pts. Paul George was in superstar mode again with 12-18 FG, unlike Brandon Jennings who shot a poor 6-20 FG! With George Hill still out and C.J. Watson in the starting lineup, the Pacers' second unit continues to receive close to no trust from their trust and so, Indiana's starters minus George all at least played 34 minutes each! Indiana's offensive flow is also improving and they dished 26 assists yesterday, after 17, 19 and 24 assists in the previous games.
For tonight's game, the big difference is that Paul George will have more problems on offense against Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler than he had against John Smith and Kyle Singler. Chicago's offense can have some decent moments when Derrick Rose doesn't start to complicate things, something that has been happening a lot on this early season. It will be important for Indiana to have George Hill back if he plays, especially to defend Derrick Rose. Joakim Noah will also need to be physically at 100% to oppose Roy Hibbert near the rim. Chicago's offense has been able to score near the basket this season with 50, 46 and 56 points, but that won't be easy at all to do against Indiana, so Chicago will also need to shoot well from the outside tonight if they want to win this game. I believe the current line of IND -3 looks good to me right now. The totals line also seem spot on!
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