Coming off of a formidable – but losing – playoff effort last year against the Chicago Bulls, the Indiana Pacers came roaring back to begin the 2011-2012 year. The squad is going through its best early record in the previous 8 years, but are still troubled against the more proficient teams in the league. While they’re 11-4 thus far, simply four of those wins are against teams with records above .500.

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With the Magic coming to visit on Tuesday, January 24, the Pacers will have a greater challenge on their hands, and they’ll need the home court advantage tonight. Indiana is unbeaten at home this year and will look to stretch out their record to 6-0. If they are able to grab a victory, it will be the 1st time the squad has begun a year with six straight home wins since the 2002-2003 year.

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But the Orlando Magic are a fearsome enemy who are 11-5 on the year thus far. And recent history is most on Orlando’s side. The Orlando Magic have beat the Pacers in Indiana in each of the previous 3 matchups between the 2. Actually, Orlando has won these matches on the road in Indianapolis by typically 13 points. The newest match between the 2 was January 26, 2011.

The Pacers will furthermore have to find a way to handle Orlando Magic celebrity Dwight Howard. Howard has headed the squad to an 11-3 record over Indiana, and he has put up double-doubles in each of these games. Despite the challenges ahead for the Pacers, the sportsbook shows them as the -3 faves to defeat the Orlando Magic. The total is established at 182.5.

Both teams come into this match with a 7-3 record over their last 10 games. The Pacers have a 5-0 home record thus far, while the Orlando Magic are 5-3 on the road. Watch for Orlando to make a astonishingly formidable showing after their catastrophic 87-56 loss to the Celts a couple of days ago.