The Cleveland Cavaliers have sputtered into the playoffs, losing four consecutive games and dropping to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The defending NBA champions have some work to do to repeat, and their journey will begin against the No. 7 seed Indiana Pacers.
While the Cavs have struggled badly of late and were without LeBron James for the past few games, they should be fine in this series because he will be back and they have the home court advantage. The truth about the team’s ability to win will be tested later in the postseason, but for now the Cavs are too talented against an average Pacers team.
Cleveland should be able to break out in a big way in this matchup.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, April 15, 2017, at 12 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The game will be televised live on ABC.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Saturday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Cavaliers enter this game as nine-point favorites and come in at -480 on the moneyline. The Pacers are +371 to pull the upset and have been pulling in a majority of the action thus far. The scoring total is listed at 212.5, with the early money taking the “under.”
Cleveland finished the regular season with a record of 51-31 straight up and 36-44-2 against the spread. The Cavaliers are 19-20-2 against the spread at home and have covered in 31 of 66 games as the favorite with a pair of pushes.
The Pacers went 42-20 on the season, winning their final game to make the playoffs. They finished 39-43 against the spread and covered in 16 of 41 attempts on the road. Indiana is 18-23 against the spread as the underdog this season.
Injury Report
James and Kyrie Irving both missed games near the end of the regular season with calf and knee injuries, respectively, but they were deemed minor and it seems like Cleveland should have its full complement of stars for this one.
Obviously James’ presence is the most important, as he finished another fantastic year averaging 26.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. As good as those numbers were, he doesn’t go all out in the regular season all the time knowing the playoffs are when it really matters.
He was unbelievable in last year’s postseason, almost single-handedly willing the Cavs to the title. Irving was also a big piece, and as long as both are healthy, they will have a shot in any series.
Season Series
The Pacers won the first game between the teams this year by 10 points, but Cleveland controlled the matchups the rest of the way. The Cavaliers won 132-117 in early February, 113-104 a week later and 135-130 in double-overtime a couple weeks ago.
The Pacers didn’t roll over last time out and that should give them confidence, but the season’s results could mirror what this series will look like. Cleveland won both home games during the regular season and should be able to do that again in the opening game of the playoffs.
Free NBA ATS Pick
While Paul George is an excellent player, the Pacers don’t have the horses to keep up in this one. James is ready to dominate when needed and Cleveland has picked up some reinforcements during the year.
Don’t worry about Cleveland’s late-season swoon. It should bounce back in style in this game, winning in a blowout which will cover the spread. The Cavs may have fallen to the No. 2 seed in the East, but they are still the heavy favorites to advance to the NBA Finals, and should open up the postseason with a resounding win.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 114, Pacers 100
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