Pacers vs. Pelicans Prediction, NBA Odds & Best Bets (10/21)

Fact checked at 7:46 AM ET, Oct 21, 2026

Odds as of Oct 21, 7:45 AM ET

Tyrese Haliburton plays his first regular-season game in about 16 months when Indiana opens in New Orleans. He tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals and missed all of last season, when the Pacers went 19-63. He looked sharp late in the preseason, with 24 points against Oklahoma City and 17 against Milwaukee. Indiana added Ivica Zubac at center and Kelly Oubre Jr. on the wing, but it opens shorthanded: T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith are out with hamstring strains and Johnny Furphy is out with a knee injury, which moves Oubre into the projected starting five.

New Orleans went 26-56 last season and starts over under Jamahl Mosley, whose first preseason with the Pelicans ended 3-1. Dejounte Murray played only the first of those four games before a toe injury sidelined him, and he plans to play Wednesday. Indiana is a 3.5-point favorite, and the total has slipped from 241 to 239.5. Tip-off is Wednesday at 8:00 PM ET at Smoothie King Center.

We're backing New Orleans' second-year pair. Murray's injury handed Jeremiah Fears three preseason starts, and Derik Queen led the team in rebounding off the bench. Both bets need Mosley to keep giving them the minutes they earned in October, so they rise or fall together.

Pacers vs. Pelicans Predictions

• Pick #1: Derik Queen 5+ Rebounds (-190)
• Pick #2: Jeremiah Fears Over 10.5 Points (-114)

PICK #1: Derik Queen 5+ Rebounds (-190)

Queen never finished a preseason game with fewer than seven rebounds. He came off the bench all four times behind starting center Yves Missi and grabbed 9, 8, 11 and 7 in 16 to 19 minutes, a team-high 8.8 a game. This bet only asks for five, which leaves him room to give a couple back.

His rookie year gives the bet a floor. He averaged 7.1 rebounds in 25 minutes a game and reached five in 63 of his 81 games. The -190 price implies 65.5%, below that 78% hit rate.

What could go wrong is his playing time and his rate. As a rookie, in games where he logged 15 to 22 minutes, he averaged only 5.7 rebounds, so we need the October version of Queen to be the real one. He shot 7 of 21 in the preseason, a defense-first coach could trim his shifts, and Karlo Matkovic also played 12 to 18 minutes a night, with one start. Indiana's new center can rebound, too: Zubac had 13 rebounds in 18 minutes against Oklahoma City and 11 in 20 against Milwaukee.

PICK #2: Jeremiah Fears Over 10.5 Points (-114)

Fears hit double figures in all four preseason games, scoring 12, 11, 16 and 14. That's a team-high 13.3 a game on 50% shooting from the field and from three. The 12 came off the bench in 17 minutes with Murray starting, probably the closest look we have at his opening-night job. Once Murray hurt his toe, Fears started the last three and played 19 to 22 minutes.

Whether he starts next to Murray or runs the second unit with Jordan Poole, who came off the bench all preseason, Fears will have the ball. As a rookie he averaged 14.3 points and scored 11 or more in 56 of 82 games. The -114 price works out to 53.3%, and we'd put him above that.

The three-point shooting is the part that won't last: 7 of 14 is a small, hot stretch. And in rookie games of 15 to 22 minutes he averaged under 10 points, so if Mosley leans on his veterans and Fears' minutes slip into the teens, this one gets tight.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.