San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers: 3 Best Bets

After an overtime loss to the Raptors, the San Antonio Spurs travel to take on the Indiana Pacers in their first back-to-back. With fatigue in mind, we compiled the three best bets.

The San Antonio Spurs travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers in their first back-to-back of the season. After allowing the Toronto Raptors to fight back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Spurs are looking for some redemption on the road.

Indiana, much like the Spurs, sit at 3-3 and also need a boost. They had their last game stolen away from them by LaMelo Ball in the final seconds. Unlike the Spurs, Indiana gets some rest.

Both teams have a clean-ish injury report. Jerace Walker is questionable, as is Devin Vassell, who missed all of last night’s contest.

Vassell was missed, but fellow wing Keldon Johnson took over for a team-high 26 points on 11/18 shooting. Victor Wembanyama looked excellent as always, but his 20-point, five-block effort wasn’t enough to propel the Spurs to an overtime win. He played 38 minutes last night, so expect his usage to be down.

The Spurs were up by as much as 22 points in the loss against the Raptors / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

With expectations sufficiently lowered, let’s look at the odds and best bets, courtesy of SI Sportsbook.

The Lines

Point spread: Pacers +8.5 (-110)/Spurs -8.5 (-118)

Moneyline: Pacers (-376)/Spurs (+280)

Over/under: 238.5

Our Picks

Safe Pick: Myles Turner UNDER 17.5 points (-110)

Myles Turner can space the floor, he can dominate the paint, and he can block shots. He is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, which is saying a lot. Unfortunately for him, he will be meeting Victor Wembanyama. Wemby is faster, much taller, and–remarkably–a better defender already. Turner’s height usually allows him to get shots off from the perimeter, but that will be a non-factor against Wemby. Driving on him will be an impossibility as well. Turner will be a defensive factor tonight, but offensively, he could be totally avoided.

Team pick: Spurs +8.5 (-118)

This line is just insulting. Will the Spurs win? Probably not, they lost in overtime only 25 hours before this game tips off. They must be exhausted. And they have to travel! That being said, The Spurs have avoided being blown out this season. With the one exception to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Spurs have kept all three of their losses close, not losing by more than seven points in this young season. The Pacers are a solid team, but not solid enough to run the Spurs out of the building.

Risky Pick: Victor Wembanyama OVER 20.5 points (-118)

As a general rule, don’t bet against Victor Wembanyama. He’s already a top player in the league, capable of dropping 30-point double-doubles and shutting down entire sections of the court. That being said, he is going up against a physical and fast big in Myles Turner and he as no rest after a marathon game last night. Wembanyama’s point total is not something worth risking tonight. Moving forward, his and Vassell’s overs are the safest bets you can make. Just not tonight.

The Spurs are the heavy underdogs in this game, which will probably be the case all season. That being said, there’s no guarantee that the Spurs won’t come out of the gate with a chip on their shoulder, so don’t write them off.