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Charlie Grant
Pacers vs. Cavaliers: Game 2 Prediction, NBA Playoff Odds
The Cavaliers look to even their series against the Pacers and rebound from an embarrassing performance in their postseason opener.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Cavs got blown off the court early and never recovered from the 19-point, first quarter deficit. LeBron James did LeBron James things (24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds) but his supporting cast no-showed in Game 1.
It was the first time the Cavs have lost a game in the first round of the playoffs since 2010. Cleveland is hoping the playoff zig-zag theory will work in its favor on Wednesday night. Home teams coming off a loss in Game 1 win outright 78 percent of the time in the NBA playoffs, according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.
Bettors should expect the Cavaliers to put up plenty more points on the board this time out. Indiana held Cleveland, the fifth-highest scoring team in the league, to 80 points and 38.5 percent shooting from the field. It registers as the second lowest point total in a game this season for the club.
The Pacers are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 games overall and the under is 3-1 in their last four. Indiana is now 4-1 straight up and ATS versus Cleveland since the start of the campaign.
Indiana is still the underdog to win the series (+200) with Cleveland listed as a -294 favourite on the Sports Interaction NBA futures board.
Indiana Pacers
Oladipo (32 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals) was the main story for the Pacers in Game 1 but there were many standout performances from the supporting cast as well. Big man Myles Turner shot 6-for-9 from the field and added eight rebounds to go with 16 points. Cleveland needs Kevin Love to win that matchup for it to have any chance of getting out of the first round.
Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s pretty clear Cleveland coach Ty Lue doesn’t know what his best five-man lineup is at the moment. The Cavs reshaped their roster at the trade deadline and Lue sat out nine games from the sidelines to deal with a health scare. It’s fair to say he’s still trying to figure out who are the four best players to surround James with during crunch time.
