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The Pacers come into Cleveland for the last game of a four-game road trip with a record of 15-18. They’re in 9th place in the East. Their last game was a 130-114 loss in Philly on Monday where they were down 28 points after three quarters.
The Pacers started the season 12-9 but have since gone 3-9 with the only wins coming against Detroit (9-25), Minnesota (7-28), and Atlanta (14-20). They haven’t beaten a good team in over six weeks.
To be fair, four of their last nine losses have come against powerhouses Utah, Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Philly. But they also lost to Chicago (15-18) and New Orleans (15-19). At the moment they appear to be a below average team capable only of beating teams like Atlanta and worse.
The Pacers were 5-4 when they traded Victor Oladipo in return for Caris LeVert, who hasn’t yet played for Indiana due to kidney surgery. They’re also missing another key starter in SF T.J. Warren who went down with a stress fracture in his foot after four games.
The Pacers beat the Cavs by 20 points in the 5th game of the season on Dec. 31. Oladipo scored 16. The Cavs started Drummond, Nance, Exum, Garland, and Sexton, so both teams have changed since that game. Sexton and Garland combined to go 20-for-33 and scored 49 points.
The Pacers don’t have a very interesting team, IMO. Their top scorers are Malcolm Brogdon (21.3 ppg) and Damontas Sabonis (21.2). Brogdon is listed as a point guard despite being 6’5”, 229 pounds. He’ll obviously try to muscle Garland and Sexton when he gets the opportunity. Sabonis had a line of 25/11/7 against Drummond in the Dec. 31 game.
Once they get Warren and LeVert back to add to Sabonis, Brodgon, and Justin Holiday they should have a very good starting lineup.
The 6’11” Sabonis is a very skilled offensive player, shooting 52.9% from the field. Allen and McGee will have their hands full. Their shooting guard, 6’6” Justin Holiday, is hitting 42.1% of his 3’s. They also bring Jeremy Lamb off the bench for 22 minutes a game and he’s hitting 52.4% from deep. The Cavs need to be very aware of not letting Lamb and Holiday get going from long range.
The Pacers are 17th in offensive efficiency and 4th in points in the paint. They’re average as a team in 3-point percentage. They rank in the top 10 in assists and not committing turnovers. The one area where they are weak offensively is rebounding percentage where they rank 23rd.
If the Cavs can contain Sabonis in the paint, not let Holiday and Lamb get going from deep, and not let Brogdon force his way to the rim against Sexton and Garland they should be in good shape. The Cavs held Brogdon to 17 in the first game on 5-for-13.
Defensively the Pacers rank 12th in points per game but 24th in opponent’s points in the paint, so maybe Allen can have a big game. Sexton and Garland were very successful in the first meeting and the Pacers don’t have Oladipo this time so we’ll see how they do against Brodgon and Holiday.
The Pacers rank 3rd in block percentage so Sexton and Garland need to be ready to dish off when they get into the lane. Backup center Myles Turner is averaging 3.4 blocks in 31 minutes per game, but he’s their only shot blocker. Actually Turner and Sabonis are on the floor together about 19 minutes a game.
The Pacers rank 7th in steals per defensive play so the Cavs need to be better at protecting the ball, avoiding careless passes, and not dribbling into heavy traffic without a plan. That was a problem against Houston Monday. The Pacers don’t defend the 3-point shot well, ranking 24th in opponent’s 3-point percentage, so I’d advise the Cavs to shoot 3’s whenever possible, especially when Turner is on the floor.
The Cavs are at home with a four-game winning streak against a team that is on the last game of a road trip and may be looking forward to getting home and taking a break after they play tomorrow night. OTOH, the Pacers got hammered in Philly two nights ago so they may come out motivated. If the Cavs can win this one they go into the break on a five-game winning streak and will have some nice momentum going into the second half.
The Pacers started the season 12-9 but have since gone 3-9 with the only wins coming against Detroit (9-25), Minnesota (7-28), and Atlanta (14-20). They haven’t beaten a good team in over six weeks.
To be fair, four of their last nine losses have come against powerhouses Utah, Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Philly. But they also lost to Chicago (15-18) and New Orleans (15-19). At the moment they appear to be a below average team capable only of beating teams like Atlanta and worse.
The Pacers were 5-4 when they traded Victor Oladipo in return for Caris LeVert, who hasn’t yet played for Indiana due to kidney surgery. They’re also missing another key starter in SF T.J. Warren who went down with a stress fracture in his foot after four games.
The Pacers beat the Cavs by 20 points in the 5th game of the season on Dec. 31. Oladipo scored 16. The Cavs started Drummond, Nance, Exum, Garland, and Sexton, so both teams have changed since that game. Sexton and Garland combined to go 20-for-33 and scored 49 points.
The Pacers don’t have a very interesting team, IMO. Their top scorers are Malcolm Brogdon (21.3 ppg) and Damontas Sabonis (21.2). Brogdon is listed as a point guard despite being 6’5”, 229 pounds. He’ll obviously try to muscle Garland and Sexton when he gets the opportunity. Sabonis had a line of 25/11/7 against Drummond in the Dec. 31 game.
Once they get Warren and LeVert back to add to Sabonis, Brodgon, and Justin Holiday they should have a very good starting lineup.
The 6’11” Sabonis is a very skilled offensive player, shooting 52.9% from the field. Allen and McGee will have their hands full. Their shooting guard, 6’6” Justin Holiday, is hitting 42.1% of his 3’s. They also bring Jeremy Lamb off the bench for 22 minutes a game and he’s hitting 52.4% from deep. The Cavs need to be very aware of not letting Lamb and Holiday get going from long range.
The Pacers are 17th in offensive efficiency and 4th in points in the paint. They’re average as a team in 3-point percentage. They rank in the top 10 in assists and not committing turnovers. The one area where they are weak offensively is rebounding percentage where they rank 23rd.
If the Cavs can contain Sabonis in the paint, not let Holiday and Lamb get going from deep, and not let Brogdon force his way to the rim against Sexton and Garland they should be in good shape. The Cavs held Brogdon to 17 in the first game on 5-for-13.
Defensively the Pacers rank 12th in points per game but 24th in opponent’s points in the paint, so maybe Allen can have a big game. Sexton and Garland were very successful in the first meeting and the Pacers don’t have Oladipo this time so we’ll see how they do against Brodgon and Holiday.
The Pacers rank 3rd in block percentage so Sexton and Garland need to be ready to dish off when they get into the lane. Backup center Myles Turner is averaging 3.4 blocks in 31 minutes per game, but he’s their only shot blocker. Actually Turner and Sabonis are on the floor together about 19 minutes a game.
The Pacers rank 7th in steals per defensive play so the Cavs need to be better at protecting the ball, avoiding careless passes, and not dribbling into heavy traffic without a plan. That was a problem against Houston Monday. The Pacers don’t defend the 3-point shot well, ranking 24th in opponent’s 3-point percentage, so I’d advise the Cavs to shoot 3’s whenever possible, especially when Turner is on the floor.
The Cavs are at home with a four-game winning streak against a team that is on the last game of a road trip and may be looking forward to getting home and taking a break after they play tomorrow night. OTOH, the Pacers got hammered in Philly two nights ago so they may come out motivated. If the Cavs can win this one they go into the break on a five-game winning streak and will have some nice momentum going into the second half.
