Nets vs Pacers Odds and Predictions for Kyrie Irving’s Return

• The Nets face the Pacers on Wednesday, January 5th
• Brooklyn is a 6.5-point favorite as Kyrie Irving makes his official return
• Find the odds, preview, and prediction below

The Brooklyn Nets will be looking to end their three-game losing streak on Wednesday as they visit the Indiana Pacers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Brooklyn was outdueled by Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night at home, while Indy fell to the New York Knicks in the first game of a back-to-back on Tuesday evening at Madison Square Garden.

The big storyline heading into this contest is the return of Kyrie Irving, who makes his season debut for the Nets after initially being sidelined due to his vaccination status.

Nets vs Pacers Odds

Odds as of January 4th at FanDuel.

The Nets are a 6.5-point road favorite here but they’ve dropped three in a row ATS. As for the Pacers, they’re actually 10-5 as ATS underdogs this season.

Kyrie is Back

The whole excitement about this star-studded Nets squad is their Big 3. However, it’s been just Kevin Durant and James Harden leading the way this season, but Brooklyn will finally get Kyrie back in the mix for strictly road games, starting on Wednesday.

Kyrie's return should be a nice boost for the Nets. 💪 pic.twitter.com/K1waFBd3Ve

— theScore (@theScore) January 4, 2022

The guard remains unvaccinated, but the team has decided to give him a chance to play in about half of their games amid all of their COVID and injury problems. It’s unknown how he’d be utilized come playoff time given the vaccine mandates in NYC, but for now, the Nets are just happy to have Irving playing again.

It couldn’t come at a better time either as Steve Nash’s squad is struggling to win ballgames right now. Morant and the Grizzlies rolled into the Barclays Center and went to work on Monday, handing Brooklyn a 14-point loss.

While KD dropped a team-high 26 points, he was clearly off, shooting 33% from the field and a mere 25% from three-point land. Overall, the Nets were cold from long range, draining just 29% of their triples.

But, the biggest problem was how badly they were dominated on the glass. Memphis outrebounded them 61-33 overall and outscored Brooklyn by 21 in second-chance points. There was a lack of aggression and desire from Nash’s group and that’ll need to change against Indiana.

Pacers Also Sliding

Indiana really can’t seem to get themselves out of the Eastern Conference gutter, losing five consecutive games and going only 2-8 in their last 10 appearances.

That puts Rick Carlisle’s squad at 14-24 on the season and makes it seem more likely they’ll blow up their roster at the trade deadline in February, with rumors swirling that Indy could trade Domantas Sabonis and/or Myles Turner.

The Pacers put up a respectable fight against New York, but fell just short, 104-94. Considering they were missing several key players such as Chris Duarte, Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert, it was refreshing to see others step up.

Keifer Sykes, who was just signed recently to add backcourt depth, poured in a team-high 22 points on 4-for-8 shooting from downtown. Duane Washington Jr, who is on a two-way G-League deal, had 17 as well.

pic.twitter.com/eFAy5oNm2Y

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 5, 2022

Indiana was completely bullied inside by the Knicks in every possible category and it also didn’t help they shot 66% from the charity stripe and a poor 24% from long range as a team. On a more positive note though, the Pacers’ record at home is much better than on the road, going 11-9 as opposed to 3-15.

Nets vs Pacers Prediction

To be honest, I don’t see the Nets losing again here. Irving’s impact will be automatically felt alongside KD and Harden, which will result in a comfortable win against a Pacers team who has a very depleted rotation at the moment.

Take Brooklyn to break out of their rut and cover the spread.

Pick: Nets -6.5 (-110)