O.C. Dooley
Pacers +1
These two teams just met on Sunday so we have a "short turnaround" revenge spot that favors Indiana. On Sunday in front of their own fans Toronto pummeled Indiana by a 117-102 count where star Chris Bosh (26 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists) was literally a one man wrecking crew. In that humiliating setback Indiana star Danny Granger hit only 3-of-13 opportunities from the field which makes both him and the entire Pacers squad "undervalued" in my mind. I will admit this is a dangerous pick as streaking Toronto has won 5 games in a row while the offense in the past eleven outings (107 ppg) has been on fire, but one has to wonder why they are not more of a favorite in this early evening NBA encounter. What excites me is the fact that the last time Indiana played HOST to Toronto just three weeks ago, they dug out of an enormous 23-point hole and ended up winning outright on the scoreboard. My database research indicates that in the past three years Indiana is an outstanding 13-3 ATS/HOME when off consecutive weak defensive efforts where they allowed at least 55 points in the opening half. More importantly in this series the HOME team is on an amazing 7-0 ATS roll and that favors host Indiana this evening