Indiana Pacers vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Odds and Game 2 Picks for Today, 05/06/25

Darius Garland to record 6+ assists (-130)

Going down 1-0 is not the time to hit the panic button, but if the Cavaliers fail to win Game 2 they are in trouble. For them to avoid doing that, they’ll have to bring back Darius Garland, who has been out for a while with a toe injury. Facing the Miami Heat without him didn’t make much of a difference, but his absence was clearly felt in Game 1 of this series as the Cavaliers finished with 25 assists, down from the 28 they averaged during the regular season.

Apart from the raw numbers, Garland’s presence should have a massive impact on the gameplan of the Pacers, who will have to adjust their defensive coverages as he draws so much attention being the team’s main playmaker. Over his last 10 games, Garland has averaged 7.4 assists per game, clearing this line a total of 8 times. In Game 2 of the Miami series he had 9 dimes. The Cavaliers need Garland big-time here and hopefully he steps up.

De’Andre Hunter 2+ made threes (-156)

One of the players who should benefit greatly from Garland’s playmaking is De’Andre Hunter. He didn’t have the best of games in the series opener, finishing with just 11 points and going 1-for-2 from deep, and a lot more is expected from the Cavaliers’ best scorer off the bench. In his last 10 games, Hunter has knocked down a pair of triples 8 times, shooting it at an impressive 46% success rate on 2.3 makes per game.

During the regular season, Indiana was a borderline top-10 team in opponent three-point percentage, but over their last 3 games that number is up by almost 2% to 37.4%. After struggling heavily in Game 1 from downtown, I think it’s time for a bounce back from the Cavaliers as a team, hopefully led by a strong Hunter performance off the bench.

Aaron Nesmith over 4.5 rebounds (-136)

Nesmith has made a conscious effort to get rebounds over his past 6 games, averaging 6.7 boards a night this postseason. That’s quite the improvement compared to his regular-season numbers, where he averaged 4 per game, and he is a typical example of a role player stepping up his effort when it matters the most. I’m looking for him to maintain that level of play in Game 2 against a Cavaliers team that allows the 6th-most rebounds to opposing small forwards this season.

It’s quite obvious that rebounds are the Achilles heel of this Cavs team defensively, so look for Nesmith to clear his line on most nights in this series. In the last 8 games against Cleveland, he’s logging 6 rebounds per game and has cleared this line 6 times. In Game 1, the Pacers allowed 13 offensive rebounds by Cleveland, and I’m sure a priority for Game 2 will be to get that number into single digits. Nesmith should play a huge part in that happening for Indiana.