Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte Bobcats – Take the Home Team

The Charlotte Bobcats are surprising some BetOnline Sportsbook customers by hanging in there and contending for a playoff berth. On Saturday night they will play host to the Indiana Pacers in NBA pro basketball sports betting action that is scheduled to tip off at 7 PM ET at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

BetOnline NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: CHARLOTTE -6.5, Total 199

Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* IND is 0-6 ATS in its last six games
* IND has lost 15 of its last 18 road games SU
* CHAR is 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 games
* CHAR has covered 13 of its last 16 home games
* CHAR has won four of its last five home games SU
* CHAR has played five of its last seven home games UNDER the total

Also…

* CHAR has covered five of the last six meetings
* CHAR has won five of the lats seven meetings SU
* Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
* CHAR has won five of the last seven meetings SU as the home team
* IND has had the shooting edge in four of the last six meetings
* IND has had the rebounding edge in five of the last six meetings

Don’t look now, but here come the Charlotte Bobcats, with a three-game winning streak and actual contention in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. The ‘Cats are just a game behind the Chicago Bulls at the moment, although there are several teams that are not far behind. It looks like Larry Brown is working a little magic, as he’s done in many places before. He re-made the Bobcats into the team he wanted (with a little help from Michael Jordan, of course), bringing more role players into the mix, and stressing defense a lot more than his predecessors.

Charlotte has rolled in those last three, beating Toronto by 26, Sacramento by 16 and Toronto again by 13 on Friday night, and they are hitting 50% over the last four games they’ve played. One particularly good piece of news is that Gerald Wallace bounced back from a knee bruise suffered against Sacramento on Wednesday to score 30 points against the Raptors on Friday. He’s averaged over 26 points per game over his last four, and is scheduled to play in this game, as is Emeka Okafor, who has been showing "flu-like symptoms."

The Pacers had to proceed for a while without Danny Granger, who sat out eleven games with a foot injury. They actually went 6-5 in those games, but currently they are on a five-game losing streak, dropping a 95-85 decision to Portland on Wednesday despite his 35 points. Last night, Granger was just 8-for-26 from the field in a loss to Dallas. Aside from the five straight-up losses, Indiana has also dropped six straight to the number. Granger’s return seems to have thrown a monkey wrench into Jarrett Jack’s game, as the guard who had been picking up the scoring slack in Granger’s absence has shot just 38% over the last four contests.

At first glance, one might be uncomfortable in laying more than a few points with the Biobcats, but Charlotte is a pretty solid 12-6 ATS as a home favorite. It should be noted that the three key acquisitions Brown has brought on board during the season – Raja Bell, Vladimir Radmanovic and Boris Diaw – have shot a combined 41% from beyond the three-point arc. We’ll go with the Bobcats, moving in a decidedly different direction than Indiana and the 6.5-point favorite in the BetOnline NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY:  CHARLOTTE -6.5 ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)