Lakers vs. Pacers Prediction: Can LA Win Six Straight?

The Los Angeles Lakers (41-32) are risking a five-game winning streak against the Indiana Pacers (41-33), one game ahead of the seventh-place Miami Heat, on Friday evening.

The Lakers are surging at the right time, similar to how they did at the end of the last regular season, which preceded a run to the Western Conference Finals. They also beat the Pacers in both of their matchups thus far, including the inaugural In-Season Tournament Championship Game.

Indy won six of its last 10 games but is coming off a 26-point loss against the Chicago Bulls. Tyrese Haliburton has shown a few glimpses of his old self but has still struggled to find any sort of consistency and averaged just 16.4 points on 26.5 percent three-point shooting in March. 

Here, we will go over the betting odds and share our favorite pick for the Lakers vs. Pacers matchup on Friday.

Lakers vs. Pacers Betting Odds for Friday, March 29

The Lakers are 35-39 (47.3 percent) against the spread and 12-10 (54.6 percent) ATS as a road underdog. They also covered in six of their last nine games and in both matchups with Indy.

The Pacers are 39-33-3 (54.2 percent) ATS and 10-13-1 (43.5 percent) ATS as a home favorite. They’re an even 7-7 ATS over their last 14 games and have struggled against the Western Conference, going 12-15-2 (44.4 percent) ATS.

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Lakers vs. Pacers Prediction

Los Angeles Lakers Preview

LeBron James said that the Lakers could beat or lose to any team on any given day, and he was completely right. That’s why it’s so tough to predict how the team will play on a given night.

LA started the year as a defensive juggernaut, only to pivot towards becoming one of the most prolific offenses in the league and not giving much more than a second thought to defense (aside from Anthony Davis). Over the last 10 games, LA is fourth in offense efficiency but also 19th in defensive efficiency, which is actually an improvement from where they were around the All-Star break.

The purple and gold recently remembered that they have one of the tallest front lines in the league and also climbed to 14th in rebound over the last couple of weeks—still lower than they should be, but an improvement.

The Lakers’ guard play has been outstanding recently. Austin Reaves averaged 22.3 points, 9.7 assists, and 7.0 rebounds over his last three games, while D’Angelo Russell has been on fire for the last couple of months, averaging 20.6 points and 7.0 assists since Feb. 1.

LA is second only to the Boston Celtics in three-point shooting (41.2 percent) since the All-Star break. If they can continue to knock down their long-range attempts at that level of efficiency while also having the inside presence of LeBron and Davis and increasing their defensive effort by just a small amount, there’s an argument that only the Nuggets are scarier in a seven-game series in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Indiana Pacers Preview

The Pacers’ hot start was derailed after Haliburton exited the lineup with a hamstring injury. His return also didn’t catalyze the team as much as they would have hoped, as they’re just 14-13 with him on the floor since he came back.

Despite some of Haliburton’s struggles, the Pacers still ranked sixth in offensive efficiency over their last 10 games. That’s partly because, while his shot has left him, he still averaged 9.4 assists during that time.

Indy is also up to 13th in defensive efficiency during that same stretch, an enormous improvement from earlier in the year when they clearly had the worst defense in basketball. They aren’t as good as the recent ranking suggests, but it does reflect their newfound commitment to the defensive side of the game.

The Pacers are going to struggle to match the interior presence of the Lakers bigs. Although Myles Turner is a nice asset, he and Pascal Siakam pale in comparison to LeBron and Davis as far as strength and rebounding ability close to the rim.

The home side is 5.8 points per 100 possessions better on their court than they are on the road and have a home record of 21-15. Meanwhile, the Lakers are 10.2 points per 100 possessions worse and are 14-20 straight-up on the road, though they just took down the Bucks in Milwaukee without LeBron on Tuesday. 

Lakers vs. Pacers Betting Pick

The Lakers have had very little success on the road this season but are riding a five-game win streak and won back-to-back road contests. They also shot the leather off of the ball and have a clear personnel advantage over Indy, which was proven in their previous encounters.

The Pacers are going to be much more of a legitimate threat in the postseason with their newfound defensive intensity but still aren’t winning consistently. That makes it tough to trust them multiple nights in a row.

This game should be close, but the Lakers are really clicking and have a great chance of pulling out the result in this game.

• Lakers vs. Pacers pick: Lakers +3.5 at BetMGM

How to Watch Lakers vs. Pacers on 3/29/24

When: Friday, March 29 @ 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

TV: NBA League Pass

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