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The struggling Cleveland Cavaliers will host a surprisingly solid Indiana Pacers, with the Cavs hoping to turn their early season fortunes around.
Cleveland (3-4, 2-2 home) has lost three straight and is playing disastrous basketball at the moment. It`s not just the poor record and the losing streak, it`s the way Cleveland is losing, and against whom. The Cavs lost their last two games by a combined margin of 42 points against the Pelicans (away) and against the lowly Knicks (at home). Other losses came against the Nets or the Magic, and Cleveland even struggled at home against the horrible Bulls. The Cavs aren`t playing a lick of defense, and their offense isn`t much better.
Indiana (4-3, 1-2 away) was forced to trade Paul George over the Summer and this was expected to be a disappointing rebuilding year, but new additions Oladipo and Sabonis flourished, leading the Pacers to a solid 4-3 record. The Pacers have played very good basketball at times, beating some top teams like the Wolves or the Spurs, and they are coming after a blowout home victory against the Sacramento Kings last night.
Bet on Cavaliers vs. Pacers and claim your 100% (100 Eur) freebet at Ohmbet now!Team news: Cleveland continues to miss Isaiah Thomas, while Shumpert will also be sidelined for this game. The Pacers are still without Turner and Robinson III, who haven`t played since the first game of the season.
If the previous seasons taught us anything, it`s that Lebron James and these Cavs don`t care that much against the regular season. Cleveland had horrible bad run like this one in the previous years as well, and they didn`t end quickly – they went on for much more than 7-8 games.
With the above in mind, expecting the Cavs to suddenly turn it around might be unreasonable. This is a very old team with a lot of chemistry issues and they are focused on a long term outcome, figuring out their plays and rotations, rather than forcing issues for early wins.
They will meet a Pacers team which has great morale and will play with a lot of energy, looking for a big win, so even if Cleveland has a good game and wins, chances are Indiana will not raise the white flag – instead, they will keep fighting on.
The Pacers are back to back on the road, usually an important disadvantage, but it`s very early in the season and fatigue is not yet a factor. What`s more, the Pacers starters didn`t play that much last night in their blowout win, with Oladipo logging a game high 28 minutes. As such, the back to back disadvantage should be highly diluted here.
Cleveland’s defense can`t keep anyone at bay right now, so my tip here is Indiana to cover the +10,5 handicap. Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers – Indiana Pacers 112 – 110.
Pick: Pacers +10,5
Odds: 1.91 @ Bwin
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.28
Event date: 1 November
