Pacers vs. Cavaliers NBA Playoffs: Betting Odds, Series Prediction, and Best Bets

The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs will tip off this Sunday when the Indiana Pacers visit the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Cleveland showed no mercy in the first round, conducting a clean sweep and outscoring the Miami Heat by a behemoth 122 points. Indiana proved they mean business, too, taking just five games to move past Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

How will this Pacers vs. Bucks series shake out, and which bets should we target?

All NBA betting odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Pacers vs. Cavaliers Series Betting Odds

When you not only sweep a team but beat them by an average of 30.5 points per game, you curry favor with the market. That's what we're seeing here with the Cavs entering as -550 favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Will the Pacers give them some push?

Best Bets for Pacers vs. Cavaliers NBA Playoff Series

Over 5.5 Games (-115)

I'm expecting the Pacers to keep things competitive in the coming weeks, so over 5.5 games is my favorite way to bet this series.

We know why the Cavs are favored. They won 64 games in the regular season en route to earning the first seed and home court advantage. They also didn't come close to flinching in the first round. We should be scared of them.

But the Pacers are contenders in their own right. In fact, they were one of just five teams to head into the playoffs with the historical resume of an NBA Finals team. They earned that standing by way of a fourth-ranked effective field goal percentage and a league-best clutch net rating. Those qualities were on display in the first round, as Indiana churned out a 58.1% EFG% (second-best these playoffs) and +24.7 clutch net rating.

Indiana went 3-1 against Cleveland in the regular season, which is awfully astonishing considering the Cavs lost only 18 games. However, there's a major caveat here -- Cleveland rested most of their starters in two of those games, Indiana did the same in one, and Tyrese Haliburton was absent in another. Thus, we can't claim to take much away from three of those meetings. We can, however, point to the Pacers beating the Cavs in Cleveland, 108-93, when both sides were healthy. Heading into that one, the Cavs were 20-1 at home.

Although the Pacers won't have home court advantage in this series, every home game means more in Indiana. Dating back to last season, the Pacers have gone 9-2 at Gainbridge in the playoffs, and both losses were delivered by the dynastic Boston Celtics. Indiana figures to make this a series.

Darius Garland Series Most Total Points (+2400)

There are some questions surrounding Darius Garland's (toe) availability for Game 1. It goes without saying that it's best to hold off on placing any futures on Garland until we learn more about his status.

But if he is ruled good to go for Sunday, there could be value in fading the chalky Donovan Mitchell (-650) in the leading scorer market for this series.

Here's a look at the number of games a player on Cleveland has led the team in scoring this season: Mitchell (31), Garland (25), Evan Mobley (11), Jarrett Allen (5), and Ty Jerome (4).

Five other players led the way either once or twice this season, but it's clear to see that Garland isn't too far behind Mitchell. While Darius did get to play four more games than Donovan this season, the point still stands.

Garland leads the starting lineup in three-point percentage (40.1%) and shoots 0.51 FGA and 0.23 3PA per minute -- second to only Mitchell (0.59 and 0.28). Indiana has guards that can force Mitchell into bad looks, potentially opening the door for Cleveland's second option to step up to the plate.

Indiana played at the seventh-fastest pace in the league this season. Garland, meanwhile, averaged 23.6 points versus top-10 pace teams (minimum 28 minutes) and led the way in scoring in 8 of those 18 games.

Heading into Sunday, Garland will have had 10 full days of rest since his last game. If we hear word that he'll be in the starting lineup with no restrictions for Game 1, I'll be targeting him in this market.

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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.