Arriving from of a strong – but losing – playoff effort last year versus the Chicago Bulls, the Indiana Pacers came roaring back to start out the 2011-2012 year. The team is going through its greatest early record in the prior 8 years, but are still troubled versus the more skillful squads in the league. Whereas they’re 11-4 thus far, just four of those wins are versus squads with records above .500.

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With the Orlando Magic coming to visit on Tuesday, January 24, the Pacers will have a greater challenge on their hands, and they will need the home court advantage tonight. Indiana is undefeated at home this year and will look to increase their record to 6-0. If they’re able to get a win, it will likely be the 1st time the team has started off a year with 6 consecutive home wins since the 2002-2003 year.

College football odds

However the Magic are a fearsome adversary who are 11-5 on the year thus far. And the recent past is most on Orlando’s side. The Magic have beat the Pacers in Indiana in all the prior 3 competitions between the 2. Actually, Orlando has won these contests on the road in Indianapolis by about 13 points. The most recent match between the 2 was January 26, 2011.

The Pacers will additionally have to find a method to cope with Magic star Dwight Howard. Howard has directed the team to an 11-3 record over Indiana, and he has put up double-doubles in all of these games. In spite of the challenges ahead for the Pacers, the sports book shows them as the -3 faves to eliminate the Magic. The total is established at 182.5.

Both squads come into this match with a 7-3 record over their last 10 games. The Pacers have a 5-0 home record thus far, while the Magic are 5-3 on the road. Watch for Orlando to make a astonishingly strong showing after their catastrophic 87-56 loss to the Celts a handful of days ago.