Cavaliers vs. Pacers Prediction
After a LeBron James buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted the Cavaliers to a Game 5 victory over the Pacers, Cleveland has a chance at eliminating Indiana tonight. Will the Cavaliers take care of business as a small underdog?
Game Snapshot
511 Cleveland Cavaliers at 512 Indiana Pacers
Friday, April 27, 2018
Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 8PM ET
TV: ESPN
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Pacers are a 1-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under sits at 204 points. As of Friday morning, 52 percent of public bets have sided with host Indiana. Check out our NBA Public Betting Page for up-to-date information.
James plays role of hero again
When the shot left his hand, most at Quicken Loans Arena had to assume it was going in considering the illustrious carer of LeBron James. The King hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Game 5 as the host Cavs sunk the Pacers 98-95 to take a 3-2 series lead. It completed a monster game for James as he finished with 44 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He now has more career game-winning shots than Michael Jordan and a better percentage of making them, per Rachel Nichols from ESPN’s “The Jump”. James is now averaging 34.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks during the playoffs.
Oladipo continues to struggle with shot
Indiana All-Star shooting guard Victor Oladipo had his shot rolling through the first two games of the series at Cleveland, connecting on a combined 20-of-37 shots for 54 total points. But it has gone downhill since then as he shot 5-of-15 in Game 3 and 5-of-20 in Game 4. Things got even worse last game as Oladipo only made 2-of-15 shots from the floor including 1-of-7 from 3-point range. He did contribute in other areas with 12 rebounds, four assists and a steal. Oladipo shot 47.7 percent from the floor during the regular season and averaged 23.1 points, so he could get it cooking again in a moment’s notice. The problem is that Indiana doesn’t have much more time to wait.
NBA Betting Trends
Cleveland
The Cavaliers are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings. The under is 6-0 in the last six Cleveland games overall.
Indiana
The Pacers are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games after a straight up loss. The under is 7-0-1 in the last eight meetings overall.
Prediction:
I’ve been picking Indiana all series and done well in doing that, even last game when LeBron hit the game-winner as the Cavs were 6.5-point favorite and failed to cover the spread. The Pacers have covered four of the five games and nearly all five. Indiana seems tough enough minded to bounce back at home from the dagger 3-pointer. Look for the hosts to force a Game 7.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: INDIANA PACERS -1