Prizing:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Saturday, April 15th, the (42-40) Indiana Pacers will take on the (51-31) Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of their Eastern Conference playoff series.

The Crowd:  

“The Crowd” is projecting a final score of Cavaliers 108.6 – Pacers 100.6 with an over/under of 209.2.

Statistics (2016-17 season):

Point differential: Cavaliers +3.1 (7^th) > Pacers -0.2 (tied for 16^th)

Points per game: Cavaliers 110.3 (4^th) > Pacers 105.1 (15^th)

Points allowed per game: Pacers 105.3 (14^th) > Cavaliers 107.2 (20^th)

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Cavaliers 47.0% (5^th) > Pacers 46.5% (10^th)

Three Point Percentage: Cavaliers 38.4% (2^nd) > Pacers 37.6% (tied for 4^th)

Field Goal Percentage Defense: Pacers 45.1% (10^th) > Cavaliers 45.8% (16^th)

Turnovers committed per game: Cavaliers 13.2 (tied for 15^th) > Pacers 13.3 (17^th)

Turnovers forced per game: Pacers 14.3 (8^th) > Cavaliers 12.0 (28^th)

Rebounds per game: Cavaliers 43.8 (12^th) > Pacers 42.0 (26^th)

Assists per game: Cavaliers 22.7 (13^th) > Pacers 22.5 (tied for 15^th)

Summary:

Cleveland limps into the playoffs with a (4-6) record in their last ten games and having lost four straight.  The Cavaliers have been struggling for the majority of the past two months and are ranked 20^th in fewest points allowed per game (107.2).  Still, Cleveland has the most talent of any team in the Eastern Conference and enter the playoffs with everyone healthy.  The Cavaliers have the Lebron James led teams have won 17 consecutive first round playoff games and James is (40-7) all time in the first round.  With Lebron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love Cleveland have three players averaging 19 or more points per game.

Indiana is (6-4) in their last ten games and finished the season on a five-game winning streak.  The addition of Lance Stephenson much needed toughness and playmaking ability.  Paul George is one of the ten best players in the league and Myles Turner is a premier rim defender.  Cleveland is (7-3) in their last ten head to head games with Indiana.  With all the struggles of the Cavaliers I think most of them were due to lack of effort on the defensive end.  While these are bad habits for a championship team, I expect them to dial up the intensity and send a statement to Indiana and the rest of the league in game one.

Contest Rules:

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line. All contest prizes will be sent by email within 5-7 business days after the conclusion of each contest.