Pacers vs. Heat Prediction and Odds: All Signs Point Towards a Low-Tempo Game

The shorthanded Miami Heat take on the Indiana Pacers tonight as a home underdog at the FTX Arena. The Heat are currently in first place in the Southeast Division with an 18-13 record and coming off a loss to the Cavaliers.

Despite their record, the Heat are not favored in this game due in large part to their myriad of injuries. As of this writing, P.J. Tucker and Jimmy Butler have been ruled out for Tuesday night and Tyler Herro is questionable with a quad issue. Bam Adebayo and Markieff Morris remain out with no return date in sight. 

The Pacers, on the other hand, are getting back Malcolm Brogdon from an Achilles injury and will be mostly healthy for this first game of a TNT Tuesday night doubleheader.

The Pacers are 13-18 overall but have lost 11 of their 14 road games this season and sit in tenth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They managed to beat the lowly Detroit Pistons on Thursday but the Heat are a much tougher opponent. Even with the lengthy injury report. Here are the odds for this Eastern Conference matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Pacers vs. Heat Odds, Spread, and Total

Spread:

• Pacers -2.5 (-110)
• Heat +2.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Pacers -160
• Heat +125

Total: 154 (Over -110/Under -110)

Pacers vs. Heat Prediction and Pick

The Pacers have a lot of issues heading into this game and are hard to trust in this spot. Especially considering they are on the road. On the road, the Pacers are just 3-11 overall and 0-6 as an away favorite as they are in this game. From a purely betting perspective, things aren’t much better when looking at the spread numbers. The Pacers are 6-8 ATS in their last 14 away games and 0-6 ATS as an away favorite. 

The Heat might be shorthanded tonight but they continue to play at a high level despite deploying a hodgepodge lineup. Over the last two weeks, their point differential has been +1.9, and have continued to play strong defense. 

This game is a tough one because the trends are skewed towards the Heat winning but with injuries getting out of control, this isn’t the same Heat team that beat the Pacers a few weeks back. But, the Pacers are awful on the road despite having a full roster and better depth. These factors have me leaning not on a team here but instead on the UNDER.

Pick: Indiana Pacers & Miami Heat UNDER 154 (-110)