Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, Injury Report, Predicted Lineups, Where to Watch, Odds | Game 1 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals NBA Playoffs 2025

The Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged victorious in quite fashionable ways out of the Eastern Conference first-round. The Pacers have knocked out the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in a row and the Cavs swept the eight seeded Miami Heat with their Game 4 being one of the most lopsided games in playoffs history.

In a way, this is going to be a battle between two of the uber best Eastern Conference teams, looking to book a berth in the Conference Finals. In this article, let's look at the preview for the upcoming Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Game 1 matchup predictions, projected lineups for both teams, and the best odds to bet on for this series.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Match Preview

Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers' second-round exit raised many concerns about the roster's depth. There was a seeming overlap between Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in the backcourt and Evan Mobley and Jarett Allen in the frontcourt. However, the Cavs have overhauled all of such shortcomings with their rattling win streaks and adding valuable additions such as De'Andre Hunter over trade deadline. In the playoffs, the Cavs lived up to their potential as first seed from the East with their quick work of clean sweeping the Miami Heat in the first round. In fact, the series was indeed one of the most lopsided ones in playoffs history, with the Cavs outscoring Miami by a 112-point margin.

Last postseason, the Indiana Pacers made a surprising Eastern Conference Finals finish, only to be bested by the reigning champions Boston Celtics. This season as well, the Pacers seem deep and are playing good basketball, with a 15-4 record over the final month of the season. They further carried this momentum into the playoffs, where they once again shattered the Milwaukee Bucks' playoff ambitions for a second time in a row. The Pacers starting lineup-relatively one of the youngest in the league- outscored the Bucks by 27 points in the series, winning in five games.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Injury Report

There is no major concern to report in Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers' injury report. Both teams have most of their core rosters intact ahead of the Game 1 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals between both teams. However, here are some of the players who are listed on their teams' injury lists.

Cleveland Cavaliers Injury Report

As for Cleveland Cavaliers' injury report, here are the players who are listed as of now:

• Darius Garland (Day-to-Day): As of April 29, Darius Garland was suffering from a toe injury and was out for Game 4 against the Miami Heat in the first round. However, he is expected to return for the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana Pacers Injury Report

As of now, there are no particular entities that we should be concerned of in the Indiana Pacers injury report. However, as per their latest update, here is what their injury list looks like:

• Isaiah Jackson (OUT): Isaiah Jackson suffered a torn Achilles on 3 November in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Predicted Lineups

More or less, expect to see the same core starting five from the first round series as Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers' predicted lineup. Here is how it would look like for both teams for the Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Game 1 matchup.

Cleveland Cavaliers Predicted Lineup

For the Cleveland Cavaliers' predicted lineup, expect the following changes in the roster as stated in the table below:

Indiana Pacers Predicted Lineup

The Indiana Pacers predicted lineup is expected to look this way for the Game 1 matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers:

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers: Who Will Win?

In the regular season, the Indiana Pacers were 3-1 in their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Furthermore, in their last two outings in the regular season, Pacers won both those games while the Cavs rested Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland for those games.

Tyrese Haliburton, though a playmaking threat, hasn't been able to show up much in the previous outings against the Cavs. Haliburton has only played a single half against the Cavs, totaling just two points while his team maintained a 3-1 record against a team with only 18 losses all year.

However, as per ESPN Analytics, the Cavs have a 71.5% chance of winning the game while the Pacers have a 28.5% of winning this game.

Our Prediction: Cavs 115-106 Pacers

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Betting Odds

The following are Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers betting odds for Game 1 of Eastern Conference semi-finals, as per BetMGM:

• Indiana Pacers Spread: +7.5
• Cleveland Cavaliers Spread: -7.5
• Moneyline: Cleveland Cavaliers (-500)

Where to Watch Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Game 1

If you are wondering where to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers matchup, here is all the information that you need to know ahead of Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semi-finals series:

Date: Sunday, April 4, 2025

Venue: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland

Game Time: 12:00 AM ET

TV Channel: TNT, truTV, Max

Stream: NBA League Pass, YouTube