It’s been a rough season for the Indiana Pacers, but they have shown signs of life as of late, knocking off the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls in back-to-back games to move to 4-16 in the 2025 -26 season.

Still, Indiana is a home underdog on Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are coming off a loss against the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Cleveland sat Lonzo Ball, Jarrett Allen and others in that game, so it’ll be interesting to see who is in the lineup for the Cavs on the second night of a back-to-back.

Allen won’t be one of the players in action, as he’s set to miss a week with a finger injury. 

These teams met in the playoffs last season, but Indiana was a much different team with Tyrese Haliburton and several others healthy and thriving. Now, the Pacers look primed to land a top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Cleveland won the first meeting between these teams by 11 points, but can it cover on the road on Monday?

Let’s take a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for Monday’s matchup.  

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Moneyline

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Cavs Injury ReportPacers Injury Report

Cavaliers vs. Pacers Best NBA Prop Bets

Pacers Best NBA Prop Bet

In today’s best NBA props column at SI Betting, I shared why Siakam is a great target against Cleveland: 

The Indiana Pacers are having a rough 2025-26 season, but forward Pascal Siakam has played at an extremely high level, averaging 23.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Siakam has 24 or more points in 12 of his 19 games this season, including a 26-point game (on just 15 shots) in his last meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland is coming off a loss to Boston and will be without Jarrett Allen (finger) on Monday night. While the Pacers are underdogs at home, I think this is a great matchup for Siakam, who is averaging 18.2 shots per game – three more than he did last season.

He should be in the mix to clear this prop against a Cavs team that is struggling right now at just 12-9 after Sunday’s loss. 

The Cavs dropped to 6-15 against the spread this season with their loss to Boston, and they’re just 3-6 against the number on the road heading into this matchup with the Pacers.

Indiana has not been good this season, ranking 26th in the league in net rating, but I think the Pacers may be undervalued at home.

Siakam and company are actually 6-2 against the spread as home dogs this season, posting an average scoring margin of -4.4 points in those games.

Allen and Max Strus are already out for this game, and the Cavs may look to sit more players on the second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland has lost three in a row and is 1-3 ATS on the second night of a back-to-back this season.

I’m not betting on the Pacers to win, but they should keep this game close on Monday night. 

Pick: Pacers +6.5 (-108 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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