Pacers vs Lakers
The NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament concludes on Saturday night in Las Vegas with the finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Neither team is at the top of the standings in their conference but both have played well in tournament games and knocked off quality teams to get to this point. Following an overwhelming victory over the Pelicans in the semifinals on Thursday, the Lakers are a four-point favorite over the upstart Pacers in the championship game.
For the Lakers, Thursday’s win was their third in a row and their eighth victory in their last 11 games. Perhaps even more telling, they are 6-1 against the spread during that stretch when they’ve been favored. The team’s star players have managed to stay healthy during the early part of the season, which has helped to fuel their success. That’s been particularly true of LeBron James, who scored 30 points in an emphatic 44-point win over the Pelicans in the semifinals. Of course, the Pacers are not to be overlooked after their upset win over the Bucks on Thursday. Indiana has won three in a row, all as underdogs. With 27 points and 15 assists, Tyrese Haliburton once again proved that he warrants mention among the NBA’s top stars right now. In fact, with Thursday’s win, the Pacers are now 7-3 straight up as underdogs. But despite that track record, LeBron’s performance in the semifinals is evidence that nothing is going to stop the Lakers from claiming the tournament title, likely with another convincing win.
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No. 23 Wisconsin vs No. 1 Arizona
The biggest game on the college basketball schedule on Saturday might be the matinee between the no. 1 Arizona Wildcats and the no. 23 Wisconsin Badgers. There were some questions about the Badgers early in the season after they came up short in big games against Tennessee and Providence. However, a 24-point win over Virginia and subsequent victories over SMU, Marquette, and Michigan State have helped to change the narrative. St. John’s transfer AJ Storr has become Wisconsin’s leading scorer and changed the look of the team. Chucky Hepburn is still handling the point guard duties while Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl are providing plenty of frontcourt scoring to give the Badgers excellent balance.
Of course, the Wildcats didn’t become the top team in the nation by accident. Arizona is a perfect 7-0 on the season, including wins over Duke and Michigan State. The Wildcats have six players averaging double figures led by North Carolina transfer Caleb Love. With Love and Kylan Boswell both averaging four assists per game, the Wildcats share the ball as well as any team in the country. San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson has also been a difference-maker while Oumar Ballo and Motiejus Krivas give Arizona two seven-footers. As impressive as Wisconsin has been lately, the Badgers may not have the size or depth to keep pace with Arizona for 40 minutes, allowing the Wildcats to pull away and win comfortably at home.
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