Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Prediction: Decimated Pacers meet East heavyweights Cavs

The NBA Regular Season has hit its last week and how quickly has another season transpired! The current period still leaves a lot of questions, which team gets the top-six spot? Which team ends up in the Play-in tournament? Which team’s season is over before the Postseason? Anyway, one thing is clear, the Cleveland Cavaliers are heading for at least a top-five finish. In this game, they will take on the Indiana Pacers.

The Cavaliers enter the game after losing 116:130 against the Knicks despite a 42 points performance by Donovan Mitchell, which was Donovan’s second straight 40+ points game. However, the Cavs lost both games without their premier defenders Isaac Okoro and Jarrett Allen. The Cavs conceded 119+ in the last games which is 12+ points more than what they have given up as the season average. The team has conceded 107 points per game, which is the best effort in the league.

The Cavs have acquired 48 wins and 30 losses, which has made them a top-four squad and they have taken the next step after acquiring Donovan Mitchell. Their defense is switch-heavy and having Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Isaac Okoro is a luxury. The team concedes low rebounds on the offensive end and also forces a ton of turnovers, which is a great recipe of success during the Playoffs.

The Pacers come into this game after a 121:117 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the heels of a 21 points and eight assists performance by TJ McConnell. The win broke a four-game losing streak for Indiana and the second half of the season has been terrible, mostly due to Tyrese Haliburton’s injury. After winning 23 and losing 18 games in the first half of the season, in the second half, they have lost 26 and won just 11 games which has been a tale of two halves.

Still, the Pacers didn’t exactly do the unexpected, they were expected to be a lottery team and overachieved in the first half of the season. The inexperienced team has been led by Tyrese Haliburton who averaged over 20 points and 10 assists. The guard rotation is deep with rookie Benedict Mathurin also contributing at a high level. However, except for Myles Turner, the frontline needs a lot of work.

• Pacers: OUT: Chris Duarte, Tyrese Haliburton, Kendall Brown. QUESTIONABLE: Myles Turner;
• Cavaliers: OUT: Isaac Okoro. QUESTIONABLE: Jarrett Allen.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Donovan Mitchell(35+ Points), Benedict Mathurin(24+ Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Evan Mobley(9-12 Rebounds), Jalen Smith(8-11 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Darius Garland(8-10 Assists), TJ McConnel(7-9 Assists).

The Cavs have been playing a superb brand of basketball all season long and they are a team with a lot of zip. The Pacers can play well but their roster has been hit with a major injury to Tyrese Haliburton. Cleveland will look to further their grip on the fourth spot and also develop a winning streak before the Postseason begins. I back them to win here with a scoreline of 123:103.