Indiana has gone Under the total in its last three games. The Pacers haven't had emerging superstar Tyrese Haliburton during those three games. So it's not a coincidence those games have all gone Under. I find it directly related. Haliburton suffered a groin injury four games ago. Haliburton, who leads the NBA in assists and also is the Pacers' leading scorer, isn't expected back until later this month.

The Pacers have slowed their tempo and stressed defense more minus Haliburton.

The oddsmaker hasn't caught on yet. He is looking at Indiana's league-leading 126.1 scoring average. However, minus Haliburton the Pacers have held their last three opponents to an average of 109.6 points. Those foes were good offensive teams, too - Nuggets (13th in scoring), Hawks (fourth in scoring) and Wizards (16th in scoring).

During these past three games, the Pacers are averaging 115.6 points. That's down nearly 11 points from their season average. The Under in Indiana's last three games has cashed by an average winning margin of 21.6 points.

The Pacers certainly aren't going to push tempo traveling into Utah's high altitude while playing for the third time in four days and second in two days.

The Jazz are a slightly below average defensive team. But they've held their last five opponents to an average of 114.8 points, which is four points below their season average of what they give up.