Cavaliers vs Pacers Game 3 Odds, Picks, Predictions & Props (May 9)
By Sascha Paruk in NBA Basketball
Published:
- Up 2-0, the Indiana Pacers can put the Cleveland Cavaliers on the brink of elimination in Game 3 tonight
- The Cavs are slight road favorites in Game 3, despite going 1-5 SU against Indiana this season
- See the Cavaliers vs Pacers Game 3 odds, picks, predictions, and player props on May 9
Heavy underdogs to advance before the start of the series, the Indiana Pacers (55-33, 32-11 home, 41-45-3 ATS) head home for Game 3 up 2-0 and with a golden opportunity to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their best-of-seven series with the Cleveland Cavaliers (68-20, 30-13 away, 51-36-1 ATS). Tip-off on Friday night is scheduled for 7:40 pm ET.
After mounting a 20-point road comeback on Tuesday, the Pacers find themselves as sizable underdogs in the Cavs vs Pacers odds for the third straight game in the series.
Cavaliers vs Pacers Odds for Game 3
The Cavaliers are currently 5.5-point road favorites and -215 on the moneyline, which equals a 68.25% implied win probability. The Pacers come back as +178 home underdogs (35.97% implied win probability).
The game total is sitting at 230.5; the teams hit the over in both Games 1 and 2, combining for 233 points against a total of 229 in Game 1, and 240 points against a total of 227.5 in Game 2.
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Odds as of May 9 at Caesars. Register today to take part in the Caesars rewards program.
The Pacers/Cavaliers series props have changed drastically since the start of the best-of-seven. Cleveland entered the series as a massive -460 favorites to advance (82.14% implied probability). Indiana was a +360 longshot to move onto the Eastern Conference final (21.74%). Prior to Game 3, the Pacers have become -205 favorites to advance (67.21%) with the Cavs now +170 underdogs (37.04%).
Indiana’s NBA championship odds are now as short as +1300, while Cleveland’s have dropped as far as +1000.
In Game 2 on Tuesday, the Pacers got another huge night from their starting five. Led by Myles Turner (17.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.4 APG postseason) and Aaron Nesmith (16.3 PPG, 6.3 PPG, 1.3 APG postseason) with 23 apiece, each of the starting five scored at least 12 points and combined for 90 of Indiana’s 120 points. That was basically a carbon-copy of Game 1, when the quintet combined for 92 of 121 points, each scoring at least 13. No single player on the Indiana side has scored more than 40 points in the first two games, combined.
Conversely, on the Cleveland side, Donovan Mitchell has accounted for 35.1% of Cleveland’s points through two games (81 of 231).
Cavs vs Pacers Player Props for Game 3
NBA player props from DraftKings on May 9.
In the Cavaliers vs Pacers props, Mitchell’s point total has increased from 28.5 O/U in Game 2 at home to 29.5 in Game 3 on the road. He’s scored at least 33 points in the first two of the series.
Siakam (18.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.9 APG postseason), who scored just 17 points in Game 1 and 12 in Game 2, continues to lead the Pacers with a point total of 18.5 O/U.
Tyrese Haliburton (18.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 10.7 APG postseason) has the highest assist total at 10.5 again. He dished out 13 in Game 1 but was limited to just four in Game 2.
Cavaliers vs Pacers Picks & Prediction
The Cavs/Pacers props have shifted significantly over the course of Friday morning/afternoon. The Cavs were four-point favorites and -175 on the moneyline earlier today, but are now laying 5.5 points and are north of -200 on the moneyline.
The Pacers have won five of six against Cleveland this season and, as I’ve been predicting all season, the Cavaliers are coming back to earth in terms of their shooting. Cleveland has been under 30% from three in each of the first two games after finishing the regular season at 38.3% (second in the league).
Indiana is being undervalued at home on Friday. This line should be much closer to a pick’em, even with in Cleveland’s “desperation” factor added in.
But I’m also going to bet the under on Siakam’s point total again. The former Raptor averaged 15.2 field-goal attempts per game in the regular season, but is taking just 13.6 FGA per games in the playoffs, and was limited to just eight in Game 2. The Pacers are making a concerted effort to spread the floor and get everyone involved, which is something Haliburton does phenomenally running the point.
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Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
