Indiana Pacers @ Los Angeles Lakers Tips - Lakers to outslug Pacers in must-win game

The Indiana Pacers will take on the LA Lakers at the Staples Center in an NBA regular-season cross-conference matchup on Saturday, March 13. The Pacers are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers, despite their recent run of poor form, are hanging on to third in the Western Conference. 

This will be the first time these teams have played each other this season, and when they faced each other last August during the 2019-20 season, the Pacers ran out 116-111 winners.

Regardless of their wretched run of form recently, I’m backing the Lakers to pull together and pull off a long overdue impressive victory on Saturday, defeating Indiana by at least 10 points.

The Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers have played each other a total of 92 times in the NBA regular-season. As of right now, the LA Lakers lead that head-to-head by 60 wins to 32. In their last six meetings dating back to the beginning of 2018, the Pacers lead 4-2. The last time these two teams played each other in August 2020, the Pacers were victorious 116-111.

The Indiana Pacers are currently third in the Eastern Conference Central Division, behind leaders the Milwaukee Bucks and second-placed Chicago Bulls. Indiana have won 16 games and lost 19 for a win percentage of 0.457. Malcolm Brogdon has been the Pacers top points scorer this season, averaging 21.2 per game, with Domantas Sabonis no.1 for rebounds and T.J. McConnell leads for both assists and steals. 

Indiana began this season brightly, and were 8-4 after their first 12 games. However, that was as good as it would get, and the Pacers are currently suffering their worst run of form of the season, with just two wins from their last eight games. 

Prior to the break for the NBA All-Star game, the Pacers had lost four on the bounce before grabbing a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 4. However the following day in their most recent game, they were beaten by the Denver Nuggets 113-103.

The big question right now among many NBA fans is what has happened to the LA Lakers season? Back in early February they were on a seven game winning streak and looked unstoppable. However, since then their record has been as bad as the worst teams in the league, with just three wins in their last 10 games.

Prior to the break for the NBA All-Star game, the Lakers suffered back-to-back defeats against the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. The LA Lakers now go into what is essentially a must-win game against the Indiana Pacers - a team as out-of-sorts as they are.