The Indiana Pacers offense exploded against the Atlanta Hawks in the two previous games. The Pacers are averaging over 150 points against the Hawks, making this an opportunity for Atlanta to return the favor on home court. It is time to continue our NBA odds series with a Pacers-Hawks prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Pacers are 2-0 against the Hawks this season, winning by scores of 157-152 and 150-116. They won eight of their last nine, including victories over the Bucks(twice), Celtics, Hawks, Knicks, and Bulls. However, emerging superstar Tyrese Haliburton is out for the next few weeks after a scary-looking hamstring injury on Monday night. The Pacers were able to take care of business on Wednesday night against the Wizards. However, it won't be easy against some of the better teams in the NBA like they have been beating. Myles Turner led the way with 18 points, but the Pacers used a well-balanced attack, with seven players hitting double-digits in points. This is the formula the Pacers will need to use in Haliburton's absence, but it won't be easy to pull off every night.

The Hawks find themselves on the outside looking in of the playoff picture on the heels of a 4-6 run. They have righted the ship after a four-game losing streak, winning three of their last five. They have impressive wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers in those games. Trae Young leads the way for the Hawks, averaging 27.8 points and 11 assists per game. They have seven players averaging double-digits per game.

Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Pacers-Hawks Odds

Indiana Pacers: +5 (-110)

Moneyline: (+155)

Atlanta Hawks: -5 (-110)

Moneyline: (-205)

Over: 255.5 (-110)

Under: 255.5 (-110)

How to Watch Pacers vs. Hawks

Time: 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT

TV: Peachtree TV

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Pacers Could Cover The Spread

The Pacers covered twice against the Hawks this season. They won by five in the first game and then by 34 in the second. Haliburton is a loss for the Pacers, but making the Pacers five-point underdogs feels a little disrespectful. If you go back to the Pacers' visit to Atlanta this season when they won by five points, do you think Haliburton is worth a ten-point differential? He may be close to worth that, but the Pacers are a good enough team without him to at least cover. In a small sample size, the Pacers held on for a win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night when Haliburton went down halfway through the game.

Why The Hawks Could Cover The Spread

The Hawks can cover the spread for one main reason: no Haliburton. Haliburton is a big part of the Pacers' offense, tallying 23.6 points and distributing 12.5 assists. The Pacers offense seemed a bit lost without him on Wednesday night, and it's still too soon to expect them to have figured that out already. Indiana pushed in their long game with him out of the lineup, but Atlanta has a lot more talent to bring than the Wizards.

The Pacers beat the Hawks twice this season and covered both games. The Hawks won't take kindly to dropping both games and will be determined to break that streak on home court. Before this season, the Hawks won six out of seven games against the Pacers.

Final Pacers-Hawks Prediction & Pick

Bettors will look at the previous two games between these teams and automatically consider the over. The first matchup between these two teams saw them score 309 points combined. Atlanta couldn't tally as many in the second game, but they combined for 266. The over has also hit in nine of the last ten Pacers-Hawks games. So, why is the under the best bet in this matchup?

Indiana's offense is nowhere close to the same firepower with Haliburton out of the lineup. They managed 112 points against the Wizards on Wednesday night, opting for a more balanced, defensive style of basketball. The absence of a player rarely causes a team to change up their style that much, but that shows how impactful Haliburton has been. The total was 252.5 in the game against the Wizards and went under that total by 37 points. The oddsmakers will adjust to the loss of Haliburton, but it seems like the total is still too high.

The Hawks' overs were hitting at a consistent pace at the beginning of the season, but as the odds adjusted, we have seen the under more consistently. Over the last ten games, the over is still more frequent, but the under has hit 40% of the time. The number feels too high here, as the oddsmakers can't get past the high-scoring matchups between these teams.

Final Pacers-Hawks Prediction & Pick: Under 255.5 (-110)