Pacers @ Cavs Preview

The story that took over the headlines for the Indiana Pacers was the fact that they were able to hang on and beat the Miami Heat, tying the two rivals season series.  By consequence, the fact that the Pacers have been struggling offensively has been swept under the rug.

Their opponents tonight are the Cleveland Cavilers, a team that the Pacers have beat 10 consecutive times and perform very well defensively against, which means their shooting troubles may not even be an issue tonight.

Indiana looks to maintain its edge in the race for home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating Cleveland for the 10th straight time.

For the Pacers this game is about one thing, staying ahead of the Heat in order to maintain home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Pacers have had some big wins over the last couple weeks, beating Eastern Conference rivals the Heat and division rivals the Chicago Bulls, but the Pacers have also lost eight of its last 14.  Just on Friday, they lost to the Washington Wizards.

Over their last four games the Pacers are only averaging 77.5 point per game and shooting 36.5 percent from the field.

The Pacers and Cavs have met three times this season, with the Pacers winning all three.  In those games they have limited the Cavs to an average 76 points and 35.1 percent shooting.  To make matter worse for Cleveland, they have not reached 100 points in 11 games.

With every loss the likelyhood of a Cleveland playoff run is getting less likely.  They are running out of time to pass the ninth place New York Knicks and the eighth place Atlanta Hawks for the final playoff spot in the East.

The Pacers are the -6 point favorites to win this game.  You can watch the game with NBA Live Play at 3 p.m. ET.