Short-handed Pacers host Wizards, losers of four straight

The Washington Wizards (4-7), losers of four straight, visit the Indiana Pacers (3-8), again without Tyrese Haliburton, on Wednesday night in Indianapolis, in a game that turns on Washington's weak shooting against Indiana's pace.

The Wizards score 106.7 points per 100 possessions, 23rd in the league, and their effective field-goal percentage of 51.3 ranks 25th. They take few threes, 28th in three-point rate, and face an Indiana defense that is 16th in opponents' effective shooting.

Defense is where Washington holds up. Only one team sends opponents to the free-throw line less often, and rivals shoot an effective 51.2% against the Wizards, seventh in the league. The leak is the glass: they rank 26th in defensive rebounding, though Indiana is last on the offensive boards.

Indiana plays at the sixth-fastest pace in the league; Washington is 18th. Anthony Davis averages 25.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, and Trae Young runs the offense with 8.7 assists a game.

Pascal Siakam leads Indiana with 22.2 points a game on 52.1% shooting. Ivica Zubac adds 7.5 rebounds in his six games.

Haliburton is out. He averaged 9.5 assists in his four games and is expected back Friday, November 13. Ben Sheppard and Johnny Furphy are also out, and T.J. McConnell is questionable, which thins the Pacers' backcourt.

Washington has four players out: Jamir Watkins, Justin Champagnie, Tristan Vukcevic and Reece Beekman. Watkins plays 21 minutes a game and Champagnie 18.3, so the Wizards' rotation behind Davis is short at forward.

The Wizards are 3-7 in their last 10, a run that includes a 114-75 loss at Oklahoma City. Indiana has dropped two straight, most recently 125-122 at Dallas, and is 2-8 over its last 10.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET. Sportsbooks' prices give Indiana a 59% chance to win; the Keel projection puts the Pacers at 58%, by 1.8 points.