The visiting Indiana Pacers hope to remain in the win column while the New Orleans Pelicans look to end a three-game skid.

Catch the game tomorrow, November 2nd, at 8:00 AM, Manila time.

AWAY: Indiana Pacers (2-3, 1-2 AWAY)

Projected starting five:

• Tyrese Haliburton
• Andrew Nembhard
• Aaron Nesmith
• Isaiah Jackson
• Pascal Siakam / Myles Turner (day-to-day)

The Pacers are on the heels of an exciting, 135-132 overtime win over the defending champion Boston Celtics. With their underwhelming start thus far, the guys are probably hoping it’s the momentum they’ve been waiting on. Indy is at 115.4 points per game with a -4.7 net rating in its first five games.

Pascal Siakam has jumped ahead as the main man, tallying 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on an efficient 54.7% clip from the field, including a super 45.8% from deep on 6.0 attempts. However, it’s only balancing out the rough stretch of Tyrese Haliburton, who’s at 14.6 PPG and 6.6 APG, a considerable drop from his 20-plus points and 10-plus assists averages in his last two seasons, especially since he’s also shooting a woeful 34.6%. He actually started 1-of-17 from downtown.

Stretch big man Myles Turner (15.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG) is considered day-to-day after sitting out the Celtics matchup due to an ankle injury. Sidelined or not, the other guys would have to step up – such is on the shoulders of Ben Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, and Obi Toppin.

HOME: New Orleans Pelicans (2-3, 1-0 HOME)

Projected starting five:

• CJ McCollum (out) / Jose Alvarado
• Jordan Hawkins
• Brandon Ingram
• Zion Williamson
• Daniel Theis

After back-to-back wins opened their season, the Pelicans are now on a three-game losing streak. The last two defeats were also embarrassing as their performances got worse on a Golden State Warriors team that had no Stephen Curry – they lost 124-106 after going up big, then lost again, 104-89, scoring a season low on an abysmal 36.7% shooting. It’s not a fully valid excuse that Dejounte Murray and Herbert Jones are already out and the second Warriors loss was sans CJ McCollum.

With Murray out for multiple weeks more, and McCollum also still sidelined, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will lead the charge for the Pels. The two had 30-plus points in the first loss to the Warriors, but basically had zero help from the rest as no other Pelican even reached double figures. Then, in the second leg of the matchup, Williamson bricked for 5-of-20 while Ingram had 14 quiet points.

Second-year guard Jordan Hawkins (16.2 PPG) figures to be a spark that can help the team with all the absences. The youngster is still figuring things out, but the ability is definitely there, so they’ll keep throwing him out on the floor.

PICKS:

Spread: Pacers (-4)

Over/Under: Over (232.5)