Caris LeVert will be playing his former team for the first time tonight as the Indiana Pacers face-off with the Brooklyn Nets for the second time this regular season. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Hornets-Nuggets prediction and pick.

The Nets have won nine of their last 10 games and are currently on a five-game winning streak as they hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 27-13. The new additions to the Nets are just beginning to gel and they are looking incredibly dangerous as they look to extend their winning streak against the Pacers.

The Pacers are having a disappointing season thus far as they are currently in the tenth seed in the eastern conference with a record below .500 at 17-21. As Caris Levert slowly regains his full form, we should look for the Pacers to turn things around the second half of the season.

Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Nets-Pacers odds.

NBA Odds: Nets-Pacers Odds

Brooklyn Nets -3 (-109)

Indiana Pacers +3 (-111)

Over 234.5 Points (-110)

Under 234.5 Points(-110)

Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread

The most notable news is that Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Pacers due to a groin injury.

For the season, Irving has been averaging 27.6 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.7 rebounds. With Kevin Durant still out and now Irving, the Nets will need to find production elsewhere and in particular players like Joe Harris and Bruce Brown Jr. will need to step up in absence of Irving.

We will also likely see big minutes from James Harden tonight who has simply been fantastic for the Nets since joining. Harden has been contributing in all areas, averaging 25.0 points, 11.1 assists, and 8.1 rebounds. Harden will need to help make up the nearly 28 points with the absence of Irving by creating more shots for himself and his teammates which he has shown no problems of doing.

Still, the main problem for the Nets as they face the Pacers is not on the offensive end of the floor, but rather the defensive end of the floor. The Nets have the 6th worse defensive rating and allow the 6th most points of an opposing team.

The key to covering the spread for the Nets tonight will be to try to slow down the Pacers' talented forward, Damantas Sabonis. If the Nets can do that and have some key role players to step up and make some baskets with the absence of Irving, they will have a good chance of covering the spread.

Why The Pacers Could Cover The Spread

The Pacers have been underwhelming, to say the least for the first half of the season. They are under .500 and dropped the first game against the Nets by ten points.

Since then Caris LeVert has returned to the roster healthy and looking to regain his footing after being out for so long. LeVert will be playing his former team for the first time tonight and so we should expect a dominant performance from him.

As the Nets are the sixth-worst defensive team in the NBA and frankly do not have a defensive presence in the paint, Damantas Sabonis should have a huge night as he has been averaging 20.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 11.2 rebounds.

In addition to those two players, the Pacers are pretty evenly distributed and have five other players, including an underrated guard in Malcolm Brogdon, who average double digits.

The concern for the Pacers is not on the offensive end but rather the defensive end. To cover the spread and to win the game straight up, the task for the Pacers will just be to contain the Nets superstar in James Harden.

Final Nets-Pacers Prediction & Pick

This is the first time Caris LeVert will be facing his former team, the Nets, who are also a bit empty-handed without two star players in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The game is not looking so great for the Nets as they are now lacking on both the offensive and defensive end as they face an underrated and very talented Pacers team. If the Nets want to cover the spread, they'll need a huge game from James Harden and contributions from other players on the team, most notably Joe Harris, Bruce Brown Jr., and Jeff Green. The poor defense of the Nets team and revenge game narrative for Caris LeVert bode well for the Pacers to crush the cover with big games from both Caris LeVert and Damantas Sabonis.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION & PICK FOR NETS-PACERS: BKN 108, IND 120 (IND +3)