3 Best NBA Bets and Player Props for Cavaliers at Pacers

Even within a single NBA game, betting markets are abundant.

You can bet traditional markets like the spread or the total, but we've also got tons of player-prop markets to sift through.

Which bets stand out today as the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Indiana Pacers?

Let's dig into the best bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA betting odds, utilizing FanDuel Research's NBA projections to try to find value.

Cavaliers at Pacers Betting Picks

Over 232.0 Points (-110)

The Cleveland Cavaliers (33-5) and Indiana Pacers (22-28) will meet up for the first leg of an NBA on TNT doubleheader.

On Sunday, the Pacers became just the fourth team this season to come out on top against the Cavs. They won that one by a statement 15 points to extend their win streak to six. Add in an 11-6 home record, and Indiana looks like a decent play at +8.5 tonight. However, that's not that way I want to go.

The Cavs went a gross 11-for-41 (26.8% 3P%) from behind the arc on Sunday. As the best three-point shooting team in basketball (40.1% 3P%), we shouldn't expect that to happen very often. Cleveland's path for positive shooting regression will steer me away from backing either side of the spread, but it does have me interested in the over.

Sunday's game totaled an underwhelming 201 points. That'll happen when both sides go a combined 22-for-76 (28.9% 3P%) from downtown and miss nine free throws. I'm more focused on the high three-point volume in that contest than the actual results, as Indiana and Cleveland are two of just 10 teams that are shooting threes at a 37.0% clip or better this season.

Both clubs play at a quick tempo, with Cleveland ranking sixth and Indiana ranking eighth in pace. Indiana has played nine games against fellow top-10 pace teams. Games in this split averaged a whopping 238.9 points and went over 232.0 at a 77.8% rate. Cleveland's games in that same split averaged 240.5 points. With that, I'll be backing the over tonight.

T.J. McConnell Over 20.5 Pts + Reb + Ast (-104)

Tyrese Haliburton (doubtful) is expected to miss his first game of the season with a hamstring injury.

That's T.J. McConnell's music.

McConnell will undoubtedly slide into a more voluminous role with Hali out and has a clear path to outdo 20.5 combined points, rebounds, and assists (PRA) as a result.

He nets 31.3 PRA per 36 minutes when sharing the court with Haliburton but amasses 32.9 PRA when Indiana's starting guard is off the floor.

Last season, McConnell played in 12 games sans Haliburton. He averaged 21.1 PRA in this split. If we adjust that split to only include contests where McConnell logged at least 20 minutes, he averaged 25.5 PRA and exceeded 20.5 PRA at a 75.0% rate, missing by the hook once.

It doesn't hurt that Cleveland lets up the 9th-most points, 7th-most rebounds, and 10th-most assists to opposing guards. Our NBA projections expect McConnell to log 22.2 PRA in 23.5 minutes, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him shoot past that minute projection.

Donovan Mitchell 4+ Made Threes (+110)

Donovan Mitchell hasn't cracked 20 points in four straight games. He's due for an outburst against Indiana. I think it'll come from behind the arc.

Mitchell is averaging 3.8 3PM on 9.1 3PA per game. He's drained at least four threes in 52.8% of games, up from the 47.6% implied probability on these +110 odds.

A date with the eighth-fastest team in the league should lead him down the right path. Mitchell is netting 4.7 3PM against the eight quickest teams in the league and nailed at least four trios in 75.0% (9 out of 12) of these games.

The Pacers rank 20th on defense. Mitchell is averaging 4.2 3PM and has made at least four threes in 66.7% of games against the bottom 12 defenses in the league. All signs indicate that this is an awesome matchup for Mitchell, and I'm expecting him to come out extra aggressive after getting off to a slow start in January.

Get a 30% Profit Boost to use on any NBA games taking place on January 14th, 2025! See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Sportsbook Promos.

Looking for the latest NBA odds? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook and check out all of the NBA betting options.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.