The Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Indiana Pacers in an exhilarating Eastern Conference semifinals series. To get all of the betting insight you need for the NBA postseason make sure to check out our NBA playoff hub, where you will find every series preview and links to best bet articles and more!
Cavaliers vs. Pacers Series Preview
There are some who would try to downplay what the Cleveland Cavaliers did against the Miami Heat in the first round of the postseason. After all, Cleveland is the top seed in the conference, so it should be expected that it would be able to dispatch Miami with ease. But that was not just a series win. It was a slaughter.
The Cavaliers outscored the Heat by 31.7 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time. They won the four points by a combined 122 points, the most ever for a playoff series. Cleveland’s 55-point win in Game 4 was the fourth-largest in NBA playoff history. Indiana is obviously a much better team than Miami, but the Pacers are in for a rude awakening in this series.
Milwaukee was a team with nearly nothing along the perimeter on both offense and defense. Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr. and AJ Green were the three leading scorers in the backcourt for the Bucks in the first round. The level of perimeter talent is much greater for Cleveland with Mitchell, Darius Garland – who is dealing with a sprained toe – Ty Jerome and Max Strus. Mitchell and Garland specifically can target both Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard on defense. That backcourt had issues defending Trent in the opening series. They will likely have issues containing Cleveland’s dynamic backcourt as well.
The Cavaliers also have the size and versatility to defend Pascal Siakam. In three regular season contests Siakam averaged just 17 points per game against Cleveland. He shot just 38.8% combined with either Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen as the primary defender. Both are capable of stymying Siakam.
Many expressed surprise with this series price, but those shops that were off-market were the ones to adjust quickly and match the books that had Cleveland at -500 or higher. The SuperBook was the highest when it initially opened -500 and is now up to -600 as of Friday evening. DraftKings is the cheapest price out there on the Cavaliers at -425 and they were bet up from the opening price of -390.
Those that shape the market believe the initial price on this series to be cheap, and I agree with them. Cleveland is a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference. It is playing some of the best basketball in the field. The Cavaliers also force issues that the Bucks could not in the opening series against the Pacers.
Most bettors do not want to lay big prices, so cutting into that price in the series’ spread markets is another way to approach this series if you believe in Cleveland like I do. Bettors can lay -160 with the Cavaliers at -1.5 games or get +125 while laying 2.5 games for the series.
Series Pick: Cavaliers -1.5 games (-160) & Cavaliers -2.5 games (+125)
