Cleveland (1-2) at Indiana (2-1)
When: Sunday, April 22nd 2018
Where: Banker Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Time: 8:30 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Indiana PK/205.5
LeBron James-led teams are a perfect 12-0 in first round playoff series, but if he doesn’t get some help from his role players soon, that streak will come to an end. The Indiana Pacers rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit in Friday’s Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead over the three-time Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points in helping the Pacers hand the Cavaliers their first loss in 40 games this season when leading after three quarters. Even Indiana guard Lance Stephenson can feel the momentum turning. “We have full control right now,” Stephenson said after practice Saturday. “We have to keep it. We get another win in our building, and that’s when I think they’re going to start panicking. We’re going to bring it like we [brought] it the first game.” The Pacers have faced a James team before in the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017 playoffs, with James playing with the Miami Heat in the first three of them. The Pacers had a 2-1 lead in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals only to lose three straight and be knocked out of the playoffs. Cleveland scored just 33 points in the second half with James accounting for 15 of them, while his teammates kept missing shots down the stretch in the 92-20 setback.
James joined Michael Jordan as the only players in playoff history to record 100 double-doubles, finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard George Hill joined James and Kevin Love (19) as the only double-digit scorers with 13 points in Game 3, matching his total from the first two games. Cleveland’s bench hit just one three-pointer in seven attempts and Jordan Clarkson was the only player with a plus rating (+4).
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Indiana’s defense has been the biggest factor thus far, holding the Cavaliers to an average of just 90 points over the first three games – 20 points below their season average. Bogdanovic’s 30 points came on 11-of-15 shooting and 7-of-9 from beyond the arc, including a four-point play late in the fourth quarter, while playing solid defense against James. All-Star shooting guard Victor Oladipo is just 3-of-16 from 3-point range in the last two games after going 6-of-9 in Game 1. Power forward Thaddeus Young is shooting 65 percent from the floor in the series and totaled six steals in the last two games.
James is going to do everything he can to even this series, but he’s had trouble this year against the Indiana defense, aside from Game 2. I don’t expect Bogdanovic to repeat his 30-point performance, but I do expect Oladipo to get his shot back. Indiana has a better all-around team and has a terrific chance of putting a stranglehold on this series.
Pick: Pacers -1
- Cavaliers are 12-26-1 ATS in their last 39 games following a straight up loss.
- Cavaliers are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Cavaliers are 9-23 ATS in their last 32 games following a ATS loss.
- Cavaliers are 5-14 ATS in their last 19 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Cavaliers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Cavaliers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Cavaliers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Central.
- Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
- Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Pacers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Central.
- Pacers are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Pacers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games.
- Pacers are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Pacers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Pacers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Pacers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Pacers are 36-14-1 ATS in their last 51 Sunday games.
- Under is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 overall.
- Under is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Under is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Under is 5-0-1 in Cavaliers last 6 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 6-1 in Cavaliers last 7 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Under is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Under is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 games following a ATS loss.
- Under is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Under is 4-0 in Pacers last 4 games following a straight up win.
- Under is 4-0 in Pacers last 4 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Under is 6-0-1 in Pacers last 7 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 9-2 in Pacers last 11 home games.
- Under is 16-5 in Pacers last 21 games following a ATS win.
- Under is 15-5 in Pacers last 20 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Under is 15-5-1 in Pacers last 21 vs. NBA Central.
- Under is 19-7-1 in Pacers last 27 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Under is 35-16-1 in Pacers last 52 overall.
- Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Indiana.
- Under is 5-0-1 in the last 6 meetings.
- Underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
- Cavaliers are 3-9-1 ATS in the last 13 meetings in Indiana.
- Cavaliers are 5-16-1 ATS in the last 22 meetings.
