#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #4 Indiana Pacers Playoff Preview

After the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers dispatched the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, the two victors will meet in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Cavaliers aim to continue their historic season with a championship push, but the Pacers want to make another run to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond.

Both teams boast high-powered offenses, so it will be a fast, high-scoring, and entertaining series. Cleveland has dominated the Eastern Conference this season, but Indiana has been quietly elite and can give the best teams a run for their money.

The Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. It was one of the most lopsided series ever. In Game 3, they defeated Miami by 37 points, winning 124-87. In Game 4, it was an even bigger blowout. Cleveland won by a whopping 55 points to close out the series, 138-83. It was pure annihilation, even with All-Star point Guard Darius Garland missing Games 3 and 4. They scored over 120 points every game. Garland averaged 24 points, Donovan Mitchell averaged 23.8, and Ty Jerome averaged 16.3 points off the bench. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen also had a good series. The Cavaliers are in strong form heading into the second round.

Many have tried to discredit the Cleveland Cavaliers because the Heat are a 37-win team. They were the tenth seed with a losing record, making the playoffs through the play-in tournament. The Cavaliers are simply that good. They won 64 games this season and have one of the most talented, deep teams in the NBA. With a core of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen, their offense is nearly unstoppable. They also have players like Jerome, Max Strus, DeAndre Hunter, and Dean Wade, who are all valuable pieces.

The Indiana Pacers

The Pacers defeated the Bucks 4-1 in their first-round series. Like the Cleveland Cavaliers, they also won convincingly. In Games 1 and 4, they blew out Milwaukee, while winning a closer Game 2 and losing Game 3. Game 5 was a hectic overtime affair, where it looked like Indiana would lose by four consecutive Gary Trent Jr. threes. But the Bucks proceeded to collapse, blowing a seven-point lead with less than a minute remaining. After a few costly turnovers, Tyrese Haliburton scored a game-winning layup to secure the series for the Pacers.

Indiana boasts a fast-paced, offensive attack that rivals the Cleveland Cavaliers. Haliburton leads the charge as the distributing point guard, along with Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Myles Turner, and others. Siakam is an excellent post scorer, and Turner is an efficient three-point shooter who can stretch the floor as a big man. Nembhard is also an effective shooter and defender, who can handle the ball and initiate the offense with Haliburton off the floor.

He only averaged 10 points per game in the regular season, but he is one of the best examples of a playoff riser in the NBA. In the postseason, he averaged 15 points per game over the last two seasons. They also rival the Cleveland Cavaliers in depth. TJ McConnell, Benedict Mathurin, and Obi Toppin all contribute meaningfully off the bench. Indiana plays fast and never lets their opponents dictate the kind of game they play. The offense can go up by 15 as soon as they can make a 15-point deficit disappear. Constantly running with a roster full of shooters, it takes great discipline to beat them.

Final Thoughts

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Pacers series will be a shootout. Both teams have deep rosters and extremely talented offenses. The series will not only come down to who can score more, but how each defense adjusts and dictates the flow of the game. The Cavaliers are the favorite, but Indiana will make it competitive, and an upset would not be the biggest surprise.