Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Indiana Pacers Bold Predictions for Round 2 NBA Playoffs

After quickly dispatching their first-round opponents, the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers are set to tip off the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday.

Both teams are capable of huge offensive nights. Both have star guards. Both have versatile frontcourts with rim protection and a dash of playmaking.

During the regular season, Cleveland did everything at about 110 percent of the level Indiana did, but the Pacers aren't drawing dead here.

As we await the start of this series, here are some bold predictions for what will happen over the next week or two.

Cavs guard Ty Jerome's production in the first round against the Miami Heat was absurd. In just 23.0 minutes per game off the bench, he averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 assists while shooting 50.0 percent from deep. He hit 10 total threes.

Throughout the season, Jerome was one of Cleveland's secret weapons. But after that series against Miami, his shooting and playmaking are no secret anymore.

If Darius Garland continues to miss time—he missed the last two games against the Heat due to a toe injury—the Cavs may have to keep relying on Jerome to provide some offensive firepower. Expect him to continue to produce against Indiana.

As for Tyrese Haliburton, he hit 11 threes in his five-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks. He generally prefers to pass over creating and taking his own shots.

In the total triples column, Cleveland will have its sixth man matching the Pacers' best player, which bodes well for the Cavs.

Cleveland had the NBA's best offense this season. If you shave off their 10-15 start to the campaign, the Pacers were sixth in that category.

Both teams have solid (albeit unspectacular) defenses as well. That means the ingredients for a shootout are here, and Haliburton should thrive in that setting.

Haliburton is averaging a postseason-best 11.6 assists and had double-doubles in four of his five games against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. While the Cavaliers should be able to provide more defensive resistance than the Bucks, the strength of their defense isn't the backcourt.

Expect Haliburton to keep breaking down his opponent's defense, setting up his teammates and registering 10-plus-assist games.

The Cavs went 64-18 in the regular season and finished with the 19th-best simple rating system (which combines strength of schedule and point differential) in NBA history. They don't have a ton of weaknesses, but if you were going to identify one, it might be rebounding.

Despite featuring two big men in their starting lineup in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the Cavs were 15th in offensive rebounding percentage, 24th in defensive rebounding percentage and seventh in total rebounds per 100 possessions during the regular season.

Fortunately, the Pacers, who were 29th in rebounds per 100 possessions, might be even worse on that front.

When both teams' starters are in, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner can at least battle on the boards, but neither are high-volume or even plus rebounders for their positions. Obi Toppin, the only other big whom Indiana is playing right now, isn't any better in that regard.

Two years after the New York Knicks bullied the Cavs on the interior in the first round and one year after the Boston Celtics did that to them in the second round, the Cavs are about to return the favor against the Pacers.

We predicted this series to be a shotout, but that doesn't mean the Pacers defense can't contain Cleveland's high-octane attack (at least better than Miami did).

The Cavs will assuredly target Haliburton, but he's the only clear defensive weak link among Indiana's starters.

Andrew Nembhard, Siakam and Aaron Nesmith ranked in the 95th, 91st and 72nd percentile, respectively, in defensive estimated plus-minus (one of the most trusted catch-all metrics in NBA front offices). Meanwhile, starting center Myles Turner averaged 2.0 blocks per game during the regular season.

With Nembhard and Nesmith frustrating Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland on the perimeter, Turner cleaning up their occasional mistakes and Siakam filling in the gaps, Indiana should put together a respectable defensive effort.

Indiana's defense won't do quite enough to stop Cleveland, though. In particular, Donovan Mitchell is going to have at least one vintage night with 40-plus points.

He already has five such performances in the playoffs, which ties him for 26th place in NBA history. After averaging 23.8 points in only 31.0 minutes per game against Miami in the first round, he's due for a big outing.

Even with the Pacers having Nembhard and Nesmith to throw at him, Mitchell will go nuclear at some point in this series. After all, those two have to pay attention to Garland and Jerome as well.

While one explosive-scoring night won't necessarily decide the matchup, it's not hard to imagine the Cavs winning this in six when combined with all of the little advantages they have over the Pacers.