Pacers at Cavaliers
THE STORY: The Pacers have picked the wrong time to go into a slump. They enter Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers having dropped four straight and are in the midst of playing three games in three nights. The Cavaliers are still reeling from losing Anderson Varejao to a fractured wrist, but are hopeful rookie Kyrie Irving will make his return after missing three games with a concussion. The Cavaliers have dropped 10 of their last 14 and are slowly sliding out of playoff contention.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Ohio
ABOUT THE PACERS (17-11): Indiana’s last seven games have come against teams .500 and above, and it has struggled to a 2-5 record - leading to questions about the Pacers’ standing as a legitimate contender in the East. They trailed the Heat by 35 points Tuesday before ultimately falling by 15. Indiana also lost leading scorer Danny Granger, who sprained his ankle in the first quarter and didn’t return. Coach Frank Vogel doesn’t expect him to play Wednesday, the middle game of the Pacers’ back-to-back-to-back stretch.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (10-16): Irving will start and play his regular minutes provided he is cleared by team and league doctors, which is expected to happen by Wednesday afternoon. The bigger problem is replacing Varejao. Cavaliers coach Byron Scott is sticking with Semih Erden at center despite the fact Erden has more fouls (30) than points (27) or rebounds (25). Scott benched Erden earlier this season because he didn’t think the 7-foot center was playing hard enough. Now he gets another chance.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Backup point guard Ramon Sessions is averaging 12.9 points and 9.6 assists in his last seven games.
2. The Cavaliers are allowing 9.5 fast break points per game, second-fewest in the NBA.
3. The Pacers have won six straight over the Cavaliers, their longest winning streak in the series in eight years.