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NBA 2016-17 Season: Indiana Pacers Are Looking To Be More Consistent But Can They Beat The Super Cavs?

By Shubham Ghosh | Update Date: Nov 16, 2016 07:39 AM EST

The Indiana Pacers are yet to register two consecutive wins in the 11 games they have played so far in the NBA this season but Cleveland Cavaliers will be the toughest opponents to make it happen. At the moment, the Cavs with 9 wins and one loss are sitting pretty happy at the top of the Eastern Conference while the Pacers with 5 wins and 6 defeats are in the ninth position.

On Wednesday (Nov 16), the Pacers will be taking on the LeBron James and Co. at their home - Bankers Life Fieldhouse - for the first time this season but will the home advantage be enough to stop the Cavs who beat the Toronto Raptors 121-117 at the Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday (Nov 15)? The Pacers beat Orlando Magic 88-69 in their last game played at home on Monday (Nov 14). The Pacers restricted their opponents to below 100 for only the second time in this game, a feat the Cavs have done five times in their 10 games played so far. But the Pacers were indeed spot on in limited the Magic to just 69 points on 32.1 percent shooting.

Center Kevin Seraphin who appeared for 19 minutes against the Magic gave a nice fillip to the Pacers' dominant defensive performance. The 26-year-old's six points, 10 rebounds, three assists and blocking a shot were more magical than the Magic in the final count.

Pacers' coach Nate McMillan played Seraphin for a small time against the Magic but given his performance in the game, one would not be surprised if he gets more minutes against the Cavaliers on Wednesday, said an NBA report.

That McMillan is also looking forward to the game was known when he told NBA: "It's a big game. The world champs are coming in here...It's kind of a game where you measure yourself."

But whatever be the Pacers' plan, the Cavs will be difficult to stop. Led by four-time MVP James, the Cavs have shown that they are hardly complacent this year despite winning the title last year and have made the best start in the Eastern Conference (in the Western Conference, too, only Los Angeles Clippers have done better than the Cavs so far). The only game that the Cavs have lost this regular season was against the Atlanta Hawks on November 8.

James, who is currently ranked third in the NBA in terms of assists, is flirting with averaging a triple-double through the initial month of the season. In April, the Pacers had taken the full use of James's absence to beat the Cavs 123-109.

According to Match Forecaster, the Cavs are 4-1 ATS in their last five away games and 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games. The Pacers, on the other hand, are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the Eastern Conference.

Game: Indiana Pacers vs Cleveland Cavaliers

At: Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Time: 7 pm EST

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