The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers Friday night inside the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of the NBA in-season Tournament Group Play. They tip it off at 7 p.m. 

Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview

The Cavaliers (2-3) just snapped a three-game losing streak with a solid win over the New York Knicks, 95-89. They got some nice balance scoring and will need that again against the Pacers come Friday night. Donovan Mitchell pumped in a team-high 30 points, while Evan Mobely added 14 in the win. Caris Levert came off the pine to contribute 14 points for Cleveland, which shot 43% from the floor.

They had some very nice defensive stands late and forced some bad shots by the Knicks. Look for the Cavaliers to push the tempo against the Pacers and also try to get Max Strus involved early too, as he has the ability to go on a run when it comes to knocking down open looks and jumpers. 

The Cavaliers also need to cut down on the sloppy play and turnovers as they average around 12 a game. If they can get that cleaned up and control the tempo and pace of the game they should be able to get Mitchell into the mix early and often. 

Indiana Pacers Betting Preview

The Pacers (2-2) opened up the season with two nice wins but they have subsequently dropped two in a row since, including a horrible blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, who torched them for 155 points in a rout. Boston saw all five starters score in double-digits and three players off the bench as well. All in all, Boston torched the Pacers from both ends of the floor. 

Indiana is led on offense by Tyrese Haliburton who missed Wednesday's game with an ankle injury and his status for Friday night is up in the air. He averages around 20 a clip. He is a huge cog in their offense and he also creates a ton of spacing on the floor. Indiana averages around 119 points per game, while they only scored 112 last season, they need to get more production from their bench.

Defensively they have had some issues, allowing close to 125 points per game. The 155 they gave up to Boston did not help, and you might consider playing some of their totals (over) if their number is low enough for you. BetOnline has a total at 220 in this one. 

Game Odds, Series Trends and Free Pick

The Pacers are 2-2 in their last five games and 2-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 1-1 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in three of their last four games and the totals have gone over in one of their last two games at home. Cleveland is 2-3 in their last five games and 1-4 in their last five games against the number. They are also 1-1 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in two of their last five games.