After a crazy Sunday of basketball, the Eastern Conference play-in matchups have been set. The Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers will go head to head in the battle between ninth and tenth teams. Just to give context, the winner of this matchup will face the loser of the seven versus eight matchup for the right to advance to the first round. 

Between the Hornets and Pacers, here are five predictions: 

Pacers will abuse the Hornets’ frontcourt 

One of the glaring weaknesses of the Hornets this season is their frontcourt. And guess what? The Pacers’ best player is Domantas Sabonis who made it to this year’s All-Star game. Sabonis is averaging a career high of  20.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game this season.

The Pacers just have a ton of offensive threats in all positions—their frontcourt, guard and wings that the Hornets will have a difficult time to stop. 

Pacers will use their experience

The Hornets were one of the most fun teams to root for this season and deservingly so. They’re scrappy and their rookie LaMelo Ball has garnered more viewers for the Hornets. But Ball and his team haven’t been in the playoffs for quite some time. The Pacers have.

Although they’ve had early round exits, the Pacers may be more equipped to handle a do-or-die game as compared to the Hornets because of the experience of the roster. 

Pacers-Hornets will be a dogfight 

In their three matchups this season, the Hornets defeated the Pacers twice. All were relatively close games but there were certain players that didn’t suit up in each game so it might be difficult to make a judgement out of those three games. But there are certain headlined to look out for when ahead of this play-in game: 

  1. The Pacers won’t have big man Miles Turner who’s out because of a toe injury. He averaged the most blocks in the league during the regular season with 3.5. He also contributed 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season. 
  2. Malcolm Brogdon missed the Pacers last 10 games because of a hamstring injury. He’s averaging 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season. He is expected to compete in the play-in tournament. 
  3. Look out for Caris LeVert (21.0 points), Doug McDermott (13.5 points), Justin Holiday (10.5 points) and T.J. McConnel (8.6 points, 6.5 assists and 1.9 steals a game) to be big contributors for the Pacers. They’ve carried the load with their starters out. 
  4. Meanwhile for the Hornets, they’ve lost five or their regular season games and have been off the winning momentum they had throughout the regular season. 
  5. There are several guys who can step up for the Hornets as well namely Devonte Graham (14.8 points, 5.4 assists), P.J. Washington (12.9 points, 6.5 rebounds), Miles Bridges (12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Malik Monk (11.7 points per game) so they have a couple of offensive threats as well. 

Sabonis will come up big for the Pacers

The Pacers’ offense revolves around Sabonis, who’s actually been a superstar for them this season. Although he experienced some nagging injuries, he’s appeared in eight of their last final nine games so that’s certainly a good sign for Indiana. Sabonis will come up huge because there isn't someone in the Hornets who could perhaps stop him. It’s fair to expect a triple double from the all-star, who’s almost averaging that kind of numbers this season. 

LaMelo Ball will shine in his first playoff moment

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The play-in tournament will have the feels of a playoff game for sure but if there’s one thing Ball has proven this season, it’s that he’s not afraid of pressure. Ball was the front-runner for NBA Rookie of the Year before he was sidelined due to injury for 20 games. He returned in May and has been averaging 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game this season. Ultimately, this will be a good experience for the rookie after having such an impressive season. His experience and ability to handle pressure will help him perform well in this play-in game for sure.

Pacers will win

The Hornets are good but the Pacers are better.

The Pacers have Sabonis, experience and a few offensive threats that the Hornets might not be able to stop.

The Pacers are also better than what their record suggests. Expect a big game from Sabonis, LeVert and company but that doesn't mean the Hornets won't be able to challenge them.

The matchup between both teams just favors the Pacers a little more hence why they could pull off the victory.

If it helps, the Pacers also have homecourt advantage in this matchup which could end up huge for them in this do-or-die game.