Central Division rivals will clash Friday evening when the Indiana Pacers (46-34) meet the Cleveland Cavaliers (47-33). Both teams are fighting for the postseason and are separated by just one game in the standings, making this a crucial encounter. The Pacers have the 2-1 edge in the season series, so a win for Indiana would mean a key tiebreaker goes against Cleveland. The Cavaliers are coming off a win over the Grizzlies, while the Pacers have won their last three games.
Bennedict Mathurin is done for the season for Indiana while Isaiah Jackson is questionable. Donovan Mitchell is available for Cleveland, while Dean Wade is out and Sam Merrill is listed as doubtful.
The Cavaliers are 2.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook with the total sitting at 233.5. Cleveland is -135 on the moneyline while Indiana is +114.
Pacers vs. Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Pacers +2.5
Indiana is one of the better teams against the spread this season at 43-35-3. The Pacers are 22-14-2 ATS as underdogs and 13-10-1 ATS as road underdogs. The Cavaliers are 23-26-2 ATS as favorites and 13-16-1 ATS as home favorites. Cleveland did win the last meeting between these two teams without Mitchell, while the Pacers won the first two matchups when they didn’t have Pascal Siakam’s services.
This has been an even series historically but I like the Pacers in the underdog role to cover in this one. Indiana is playing better at the moment and should be able to take advantage of some rotation players being down for Cleveland.
Over/Under: Over 233.5
The two Indiana wins went over tonight’s total, while Cleveland’s win stayed under tonight’s total. The Pacers started off as one of the most over-friendly teams in the league but are currently 40-39-2 to the over. The Cavaliers are 38-41-1 to the over. After six straight overs, Cleveland has gone under its totals in three of the last four. The Pacers have gone over their totals in three of the last four games. Since I’m backing Indiana as the ATS pick, I think I’ll take the over here to hold form with the first two matchups of this season series.