Tip-off: Monday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -4.5

The Cavaliers will be going for their fifth straight win when they head to Indiana and face the Pacers on Monday.

Cleveland has been playing very well since making a coaching change and the team has now won four straight games. The Cavaliers have also covered in the past three contests. The most recent game was a meeting with the Spurs in Cleveland and they won that one 117-103 as 1.5-point underdogs. One thing Tyronn Lue wanted to do with his team is pick up the pace and it’s been working. Cleveland is averaging 115.0 PPG over the past four contests and will be looking to continue scoring at a high clip moving forward. The Pacers, meanwhile, have been playing pretty well too. Indiana is coming off of back-to-back home wins over Atlanta and Denver. Indiana covered against the Hawks on Thursday, but was unable to cover against Denver on Saturday. These two teams have met just once this season and Cleveland won that game 101-97 as an eight-point home favorite. The Pacers are, however, 4-0 both SU and ATS when hosting the Cavaliers over the past three seasons. One trend that stands out when looking into this game is the fact that Indiana is 8-23 ATS after failing to cover in six or seven of its past eight over the past three seasons. The Cavaliers are expected to be at full strength heading into this one and the Pacers are without PG Rodney Stuckey (Foot) indefinitely.

The Cavaliers are looking like contenders once again and SF LeBron James (24.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.4 SPG) is a huge reason for that. Over the past five contests, James is averaging 24.2 PPG, 8.4 APG and 6.8 RPG in 35.8 MPG. He is attacking the basket more and has been extremely efficient, shooting 55.4% from the field. This will be a tough one for James with Paul George being on the opposing team. James will need to be locked in on both ends of the floor or Cleveland could lose this one. Another guy that has played extremely well for the Cavaliers is PF Kevin Love (16.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG,). Love was excellent in the win over the Spurs on Saturday, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. He is averaging 23.7 PPG over the past three contests and if he can continue to score like this then the Cavaliers might just be destined to make the NBA Finals once again. PG Kyrie Irving (16.4 PPG) has also joined in on the fun for Cleveland, averaging 24.5 PPG over the past two contests. He has an excellent opportunity to go off against an Indiana team that is a bit banged up at the guard spot.

The Pacers will be going for their third straight win on Monday and this game against the Cavaliers is a chance to make a statement in the Eastern Conference. SF Paul George (23.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.9 SPG) is going to need to have an unbelievable game if the Pacers are going to win this one. He has struggled over the past two games, averaging just 15.0 PPG. He did, however, have 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes the last time these teams met. If he can hold his own against LeBron James then the Pacers could just keep this one close. One player that has been huge for the Pacers is SG Monta Ellis (14.3 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG). Ellis has made up for the lack of scoring from George, averaging 28.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.0 APG and 4.0 SPG over the past two contests. He has been on fire offensively and is getting into passing lanes on the defensive end. C Myles Turner (9.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.4 BPG) has also been a revelation for Indiana. The rookie is averaging 17.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 2.6 BPG over the past five contests and has earned himself a major role on this team moving forward. He can hit the midrange jumper and is taking a lot of pressure off of the Pacers’ wing players.