Off to another preseason game, with this being the first time we’ll see the Haliburton-less Pacers, it should be a good warmup. The Timberwolves are already sitting their starters for this game, but with the talent in Minnesota, this should still be a fun game. We’ll see which teams' core of role players can take control.
Kam Jones Out
Ben Sheppard Out
James Wiseman Out
Isaiah Jackson Out
Anthony Edwards Out
Mike Conley Out
Julius Randle Out
We're off to Minnesota for this one, but in classic preseason fashion, Minnesota is already resting most of its starters. We’ll see Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, and Julius Randle on the bench tonight. With a host of injuries limiting some of the Pacers players, we'll see a lot of new names tonight.
For the Timberwolves, this is a great chance to see more of Rob Dillingham. After a disappointing rookie season, Dillingham turned out to be more of a project player than expected. With Mike Conley’s career nearing its end, a lot of the team's future depends on Dillingham. Although his development has been slow, his first preseason game showed some promise. He recorded 9 assists in just 23 minutes. While his shooting is still a concern, he’ll be a player to watch tonight. Beyond Dillingham, Joan Beringer will also be someone to keep an eye on. The rookie played well against the Nuggets in their first game, and since he should get plenty of minutes, he’s likely to have a significant run. With this mix of talent, the team will be a tough challenge for the Pacers.
The Pacers still have talent. Even after losing two starters in the playoffs, and the off-season hasn’t drained the team of its skill. They were one of the deepest teams in the league last year with many high-quality role players. Now, they won’t be able to fully replace what Haliburton contributed, but they should remain competitive. With Bennedict Mathurin and Jay Huff likely taking over the starting roles in this game, they’ll be a tough team. That’s not even mentioning Obi Toppin, TJ McConnell, and Jarace Walker coming off the bench.
This matchup is going to be tricky to call. The Wolves have the better starters, but I doubt we see them for more than 12 minutes tonight. For the Pacers, they’re a wild card. I doubt Siakam plays much, but the rest of the team could use some reps together. So if Nembhard ends up getting 20+ minutes, or Mathurin goes off, they'll have an excellent chance in this game. That’s why I’m going with the Pacers tonight on the moneyline, the under on the 224.5 points total, and the Pacers spread at +6.5.
Money line: IND (+205) / MIN (-250)
Total Points: 224.5
Spread: +6.5 IND (-108) / -6.5 MIN (-112)
With the new look Pacers debuting tonight, Nembhard is likely to see a significantly different scoring role. After proving himself as a reliable heat check shooter in the playoffs, he’ll have the green light for most of this game. I don’t expect him to play long, maybe 15 minutes total, but in that time, he’s more than capable of scoring 10 points.
Mathurin has been a bit of an outsider on this team. He’s clearly talented, but offensively, he’s always struggled to fit into the offensive flow. When the ball is in his hands, he’s attacking the rim regardless of the situation. It worked at times last year, but tonight could be a big scoring night for Mathurin. I expect he’ll get more playing time than most of the starters, and with his offensive style, he’ll have plenty of chances to score. Even though 15 points might be tough in a preseason game, I still like this line with the plus money attached.
The rebound prop bets for Siakam are going to be a hidden gem this year. With the Pacers losing Haliburton for the season, and Myles Turner signing in Milwaukee, they need all the rebounding they can get. Even with Siakam's minutes being limited tonight, he’ll be one of the few competent rebounders out there. Which should put him in prime position to snag defensive boards left and right.