NBA Betting – Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers

Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers (-9.5, 195 o/u)

After trouncing the Wizards in Washington last Wednesday (113-87), the Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Indiana Pacers tonight at Quicken Loans Arena (7:30 p.m. Eastern).

Two straight wins have the Cavs back at .500 (7-7) and third in the Central Division. Hopes are high in Cleveland that the Big 3 are finally starting to click; each of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and LeBron James is averaging at least 18 points.

After the win over the Wizards, James – who has been vocal about the team’s lack of chemistry – was happy with Cleveland’s ball movement and hustle.

“We played basketball the right way,” James said. “We shared the ball. We defended. We sustained effort for as close to 48 minutes as possible. I’m very happy and pleased with the way we’ve played the past two games.”

Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers are 7-9 on the year and are limping along without star Paul George. Last year’s Eastern Conference regular season champs are starting to play a little better overall, though, winning six of their last nine, including a 98-83 over the Magic last night.

The issues for Indiana are largely on offense. The Pacers average just 93.2 PPG. Until last night, their top scorer was Roy Hibbert at just over 13 PPG.

What changed yesterday?

Veteran forward David West returned from injury, scoring 18 points in his season debut. The timing of West’s return was crucial for Indiana, who were missing center Hibbert with an ankle injury. Big Roy remains questionable for tonight’s game, as well.

Though West’s return should lead to a bump in offense for the Pacers in the long run, the Cavs are at home against a tired and shorthanded team. Look for Cleveland to win going away.

(Photo credit: By Erik Drost from United States (Kyrie Irving  Uploaded by Dudek1337) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)