Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 3/18/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Monday, March 18, 2024

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: Bally Sports Indiana

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+1)

The Cleveland Cavaliers (42-25) are en route to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday where they will take on the Indiana Pacers (38-30). Indiana opens as 1-point favorites. The over/under is 223.5.

The Cavaliers faced the Rockets and ended up losing by a score of 117-103 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Cavaliers ended up walking away with 12 while the Rockets accumulated 19 fouls. They also converted 15 of 42 tries from downtown. Houston finished shooting 66.7% from the charity stripe by burying 8 of their 12 tries. Furthermore, Houston pulled down 48 rebounds (11 offensive, 37 defensive) and earned 7 blocked shots. Houston doled out 28 assists and had 9 steals for this contest. In terms of defense, Cleveland allowed the other team to go 48.0% from the floor on 47 of 98 shooting. They also doled out 22 assists for this game while creating 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. When it comes to rebounding, they earned 45 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Cavaliers knocked down 17 of their 20 attempts for a rate of 85.0%. Cleveland finished having earned a 45.1% field goal percentage (37 out of 82) and made 12 out of their 38 3-point shots.

Caris LeVert is one player who was a factor in this game. LeVert walked away from this one shooting 57.1% from the floor and distributed 7 assists. He was on the hardwood for 32 mins played and collected 3 boards. He scored 21 points on 8 out of 14 shooting.

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Cleveland will play this game with a mark of 42-25 for the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.4 times per game and as a team are committing 18.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling down 44.4 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 1,860 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 10th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.6% on three-point attempts (916 of 2,505) and 76.4% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 113.6 pts per game (18th in the league) while shooting 47.9% from the floor.

On defense, the Cavaliers are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They are giving up 36.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 4th in the NBA in PPG allowed (109.6). The Cavaliers defense is allowing a FG percentage of 45.7% (2,693 of 5,897) and they surrender 42.8 rebounds per game as a group. They rank 5th in basketball in giving up assists with 1,644 surrendered so far this season.

The last time they took the court, the Pacers got the victory with a final of 121-100 when they faced the Nets. Concerning rebounds, Indiana permitted Brooklyn to get 45 in total (12 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.0% from distance by shooting 10 out of 25 and finished the game at 24 out of 31 from the free throw line (77.4%). The Pacers permitted the Nets to knock down 33 out of 77 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.9% for the contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Pacers went 50 out of 105 from the field which gave them a rate of 47.6%. In terms of three-point attempts, Indiana knocked down 6 of their 30 attempts (20.0%). They were able to make 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 93.8%. The Nets earned 18 personal fouls in the game which got the Pacers to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while recording 13 steals for the contest. The Pacers collected 33 defensive boards and 17 offensive rebounds totaling 50 for this contest.

Pascal Siakam was important for the Pacers for the matchup. Siakam earned 28 points in his 28 mins of playing time and earned 4 dimes in this matchup. He made 11 of 22 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and totaled 11 rebounds.

Indiana has a mark of 38-30 for the year. The Pacers are committing 21.5 personal fouls per game and they connect on 78.3% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 30.5 times per game (1st in the NBA) and they cough up possession 13.2 times per contest. Indiana has earned 8,372 points this year (123.1 per game) and they average 41.3 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Pacers are hitting on 50.5% from the floor, which is 1st in the league.

The Pacers on the defensive side of the court are 28th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 121.1. They have forced 14.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 50.0% from the field (29th in the NBA). The Indiana defense gives up 37.2% on 3-point shots (743 of 1,995) and their opposition knocks down 78.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 24.7 dimes and 43.3 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 5th and 14th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland (+1)

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