The Cleveland Cavaliers (56-22) and their fourth-ranked offense travel to Indiana (41-36) to take on the Pacers and their third-ranked defense. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Apr. 6 and can be seen on ESP, FxO and FxI.
The Pacers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Knicks 92-87 on Sunday. Paul George was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 109-80 win against the Bucks on Tuesday. LeBron James had a good game for Cleveland, accounting for 17 points, nine assists, and five rebounds.
James has upped his play over the last five games for the Cavaliers, averaging 25.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 0.5 three-pointers.
It will be a showdown of two heavyweights, as the prolific offense of the Cavaliers (fourth in the league with an offensive efficiency of 108.8) takes the court against the elite defense of the Pacers (third in the NBA with a defensive efficiency of 100.6).
The Cavaliers have emerged victorious in all three games against the Pacers this year, including a 100-96 win the last time these two teams met. James was the game’s top overall scorer with 33 points.
The Pacers come into this game 41-36 Straight Up (SU) and 38-39 Against The Spread (ATS). They find ways to win against the Central, with a SU record of 8-5. ATS, however, they are only 4-9. Indiana is the league’s top scoring team off turnovers with an average of 19.0 points per game.
Over on the other bench, the Cavaliers have 54-22 SU and 34-40-2 ATS records. Cleveland has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 3-7 record. The Cavaliers allow just 97.8 points per game, ranking them third in the league.
In their previous meeting this season, Cleveland beat Indiana, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 6-4. The Pacers lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
“Indiana is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana’s last 5 games “.
“Indiana is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana’s last 5 games at home”.
“Indiana is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland”.
“Indiana is 17-7 SU in its last 24 games when playing Cleveland”.
“Indiana is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland”.
“Indiana is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
“Indiana is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Indiana’s last 13 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
Indiana puts up an average of 101.7 points per game (ranked 20th), while Cleveland allows 97.8 points per game (ranked third).
On average, Indiana scores 101.7 points per home game (ranked 22nd), while Cleveland gives up 97.5 points per away game (ranked second).
In its last game, Cleveland won by a 29-point margin. Indiana is 5-5 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Cleveland has a 14-3 record in blowouts.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have an outstanding 31-9 record when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The Indiana Pacers are 14-19 when they score less than 100.
The Cavaliers have a 25-13 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Pacers have also performed well when they register triple digits with a record of 27-17 in such contests.
The Pacers have a defensive rating of 100.6, third-best in the NBA. The Cavaliers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 108.8 (ranked fourth).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking ninth in the league with a FG% of 46.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Indiana Pacers have a subpar 5-20 record.
On average, Indiana attempts 22.0 three pointers and Cleveland attempts 29.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Pacers are 17-14 while the Cavaliers have a winning 41-18 record.
Indiana has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.46 this season (ranked 25th). Cleveland ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.77 (ranked eighth).
The Pacers rank 10th in rebounds per game with 44.3, while the Cavaliers rank seventh with 44.7 per game.
Indiana is ranked ninth in defensive rebounds, while Cleveland ranks 12th in offensive rebounds.
On average, the Pacers force a turnover rate of 15.4%, ranked seventh in the NBA. When the Cavaliers turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 17-8 record.
