The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers will face off in the second of four regular season meetings on Friday evening. The Bucks have won four of the last five games, improving to 31-17 overall this season. Milwaukee must travel to Indianapolis for this matchup, with the Pacers posting a 16-9 home record and a 24-26 overall mark. Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) is listed as probable for the Bucks, with Bobby Portis (knee) ruled out and both MarJon Beauchamp (knee) and AJ Green (ankle) listed as questionable. Tyrese Haliburton (knee) is out for the Pacers, with Andrew Nembhard (illness), Aaron Nesmith (wrist) and Myles Turner (ankle) listed as questionable.
Caesars Sportsbook lists Milwaukee as an 8.5-point favorite for this 7 p.m. ET tip. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 239.5 in the latest Bucks vs. Pacers odds. Before locking in any Pacers vs. Bucks picks, you need to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s advanced computer simulation model.
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 four-plus seasons. The model enters Week 15 of the 2022-23 NBA season on a stunning 47-22 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,200. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Bucks vs. Pacers and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Now, here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Bucks vs. Pacers:
- Bucks vs. Pacers spread: Bucks -8.5
- Bucks vs. Pacers over/under: 239.5 points
- Bucks vs. Pacers money line: Bucks -355, Pacers +278
- MIL: The Bucks are 9-12-3 against the spread in road games
- IND: The Pacers are 16-9 against the spread in home games
- Bucks vs. Pacers picks: See picks here
Featured Game | Indiana Pacers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Why the Bucks can cover
Milwaukee’s defense is fantastic this season, giving up fewer than 1.11 points per possession this season. The Bucks are in the top four of the league in defensive rating, defensive rebound rate, shooting efficiency allowed, free throw prevention and assists allowed, and Milwaukee is blowing more than five shots per game. Indiana has offensive issues in ball security and shotmaking, and those shortcomings are magnified in the absence of Haliburton.
On offense, Milwaukee is producing 14.7 second-chance points per game while securing nearly 30% of missed shots on the offensive glass. The Bucks also have edges against a porous Indiana defense. The Pacers are in the bottom ten of the NBA in 114.5 points allowed per 100 possessions, and Indiana is in the bottom five of the league in 3-point accuracy allowed (37.4%), free throw attempts allowed (25.4 per game), assists allowed (26.1 per game) and defensive rebound rate (69.2%).
Why the Pacers can cover
Indiana has strengths on both sides of the floor this season. The Pacers lead the NBA in fast break points (18.8 per game), and are above-average in offensive rebound rate (29.4%), 3-point accuracy (36.2%), free throw creation (24.0 attempts per game), assists per game (26.5) and free throw accuracy (80.1%). Milwaukee creates only 12.9 turnovers per game on defense, second-fewest in the NBA, and the Pacers also put pressure on opponents on defense.
Indiana is in the top five of the league with 15.8 turnovers created per game, and average 6.0 blocks per game, No. 2 in the league. Opponents are shooting only 53.4% from 2-point range against Indiana, and Milwaukee’s offense is strongly below the NBA average in offensive rating, field goal percentage, free throw creation and turnover avoidance.
How to make Bucks vs. Pacers picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning Under on the point total, with only one player projected to reach or exceed 20 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the model’s picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Bucks vs. Pacers? And which side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Bucks vs. Pacers spread you need to jump on Friday, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
