The Cleveland Cavaliers are at full strength, looking to even up their series with the Indiana Pacers.
The pregame narrative: The Cavs were without key pieces for the first couple of games of this second-round matchup and went down 2-0 in the process. With the starting five healthy, Cleveland handily won Game 3 and is the favourite to even things up on the road.
Check out my Cavaliers vs. Pacers SGP predictions for May 11, featuring Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell.
Cavaliers vs. Pacers predictions
Parlay: Cavaliers ML | Mobley over 28.5 points and rebounds | Mitchell 3+ threes (+290)
Cavaliers ML (-215): Game 3 was the first time in this series that the Cavaliers had a healthy starting five, and they looked like the regular season team that won 64 games.
Darius Garland missed the first two contests while Evan Mobley missed Game 2. With both available on Friday, Cleveland won 126-104.
That effort was fuelled by a 34-13 second quarter that gave Cleveland a lead it never lost.
After losing both home games, that was exactly the momentum shift the Cavs needed to get back into this series.
Despite being down 2-1, the Cavs have been one of the better teams in these playoffs overall.
- They have the league’s best offensive rating (127.4). The Oklahoma City Thunder rank second (118.2).
- They have the fourth-best defensive rating (107.7).
Cleveland ranks better than Indiana in both of those categories and is the more talented team when at full strength.
NBA SGP legs
Mobley over 28.5 points and rebounds (-108): Mobley has dominated down low when available in this series:
- Game 1: 20 points, 10 rebounds
- Game 3: 18 points, 13 rebounds
That’s because this is a great matchup for the power forward.
Of any team remaining in the playoffs, the Pacers allowed the most points per game to the position this season (23.93), per Fantasy Pros.
Indiana also conceded the second-most rebounds per game by any team during the regular season (11.28).
Mobley has shot a combined 15-for-25 (60.0%) through his two games and should continue to shine for the Cavs.
Mitchell 3+ threes (-220): Mitchell took a step back this year, taking the fewest shots per game (18.6) since he was a rookie.
That continued in the first round since Cleveland comfortably handled the Miami Heat, but now Mitchell is shouldering a heavier offensive load, and the results look like this:
- Game 1: 33 points, 13-for-30 from the field (1-for-11 from 3)
- Game 2: 48 points, 15-for-30 from the field (1-for-7 from 3)
- Game 3: 43 points, 14-for-29 from the field (5-for-13 from 3)
He hasn’t been an efficient 3-point shooter to this point, but that volume is extremely encouraging.
Plus, he’s coming off his best shooting game of the series in Indiana and should continue to see a hefty number of shot attempts with the Cavaliers needing another win.
Mitchell shot 36.8% from deep during the regular season.
Cavaliers vs. Pacers predictions made at 11:30 a.m. ET 05/11/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.