NBA Playoffs picks, odds, schedule for Tuesday: Cavs try to tie Pacers, Warriors-Wolves Game 1

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The NBA’s conference semifinals are thoroughly awesome every year, even if they don’t quite get the stakes and glamour of later series. The second round is an ideal combination of talent (no sputtering eight seeds) and depth (the last time we get playoff doubleheaders on a nightly basis).

This is where Kevin Durant needed an extra fraction of an inch, where Steve Nash needed to plug his face with gauze and where Kawhi Leonard put fate in a pinball machine. Let’s see what’s in store for us this time.

Tuesday’s slate yields two matchups worth watching. First, the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers rally to host the insurgent Indiana Pacers for a pivotal Game 2. Then, we begin the Anthony Edwards bildungsroman … unless the winningest organization of the past decade has editing power, of course. The Minnesota Timberwolves-Golden State Warriors series teems with “Hardwood Classics” potential.

Viewing guide for Tuesday

Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.

Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers Game 2

Pacers lead series 1-0

Series odds: Cavaliers -210, Pacers +175

Who saw that Game 1 result coming? Now, who said they saw it coming and wasn’t totally lying?

Indiana scored a road upset to jumpstart this series, but the 64-win No. 1 seed is still favored coming into Tuesday. Kenny Atkinson and the Cavs went 34-7 in Cleveland’s Gateway District this season, and won two home games versus Miami last round by a combined 30 points.

The Pacers are not the Heat, granted. Indy’s offense has been grooving in hyper-speed since the top of the New Year, and it shot the lights out in Sunday’s upset with a line of 53/52.8/93.3. Aaron Nesmith, an opponent’s afterthought as the fifth option, went off with four makes behind the arc and two tough offensive boards. Tyrese Haliburton was locked in with an efficient 13 assists. It’s been a particularly wild run for Haliburton, who feverishly refutes his overrated label nightly. He averages more assists than anyone in the playoff field (11.8) while tying for 19th in turnovers per game (2.0).

Cleveland set franchise watermarks for efficiency around the perimeter, and it’s unlikely that Donovan Mitchell and his crew will go 24 percent on 3s again. Mitchell really struggled from distance (1-for-11), yet the Cavs almost averted the loss by handily winning both rebounding and turnover margins. Teams seldom score 70 points in the paint and lose. Ty Jerome was forced into a season-high 20 shots given the absence of Darius Garland (toe), whose Game 2 status is still up in the air.

The hosts deserve the benefit of the doubt after this well-rounded and level-headed run. But a 2-0 hole heading into Indiana would illuminate the glass-boxed panic button.

Which moniker would win in a fight? We’ll go with the Cavaliers, named after “fearless men, whose life’s pact was never surrender, no matter what the odds.” Pacers would win in a race, though.

Expert picks

Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves Game 1

Series odds: Timberwolves -180, Warriors +150

Minnesota dispatched the gambling favorite Los Angeles Lakers in five games, winning its first close-out try on Figueroa Street with self-assurance. Rudy Gobert looked like Wilt Chamberlain against LA’s small and exhausted frontcourt. Julius Randle exorcised the postseason demons that had checkered his past half-decade of All-Star play. Plus, Edwards did, well, all this:

The Wolves cruised to this matchup despite less-than-pedestrian 3-point shooting (32.3 percent in those five first-round games). They compensated by leaning into their length and their bench punch. In a series with multiple future Hall-of-Famers, the best offensive rating belonged to folk hero and perennial mismatch Naz Reid. A similar formula can work against Golden State. Other than a single start from Quinten Post in Game 3, the Warriors’ starting lineup maxes out at 6-foot-6 Draymond Green and 6-foot-7 Jimmy Butler. Steve Kerr’s crew also carries the extra weight of a taxing seven-game series with the Rockets.

Still, no one in the basketball multiverse doubts this core’s capacities in high-leverage spots. Green and Stephen Curry are four-time champions, and Butler is one of the generation’s most revered clutch performers. Playoff Jimmy was in full effect once again, putting out a series-high offensive rating while gritting his teeth through injury.

It took every possible minute and one Buddy Hield barrage to get it done, but Golden State successfully knocked off the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed. This version is multifaceted and experienced, but like it’s always been since 2015, things start and end with the purveyor of sleep. Curry averaged 5.5 made 3s on 12 tries in four Minnesota matchups this season. Edwards may be the next face of the NBA, but the sport’s incumbent lead showman is still very much out here.

Which moniker would win in a fight? Wolves are smart, loyal and hunt their enemies in packs, but Warriors are professional fighters. Advantage, Dubs.

Expert picks

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo of Donovan Mitchell and Aaron Nesmith: Jason Miller / Getty Images)

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