Indiana @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 26, 2018 ) Indiana 108, Cleveland 115

The Cleveland Cavaliers are hitting the playoffs and trying to earn their fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals but will be doing it from an unfamiliar position - fourth place. The Cavaliers will have homecourt advantage in the first round as they try to carry the momentum from a strong finish in the regular season into Game 1 against the visiting No. 5 seed Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Cleveland revamped its roster at the trade deadline and battled through some inconsistency with the new rotations and injured players until putting everything together and finishing the regular season with wins in 11 of the last 14 games. "The most important thing, I think, is competing and playing hard," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "I think you get deflections, get a steal, get an easy basket. The easiest way to play your first time in the playoffs is just playing hard. I think the fans appreciate that, guys on the floor, taking charges, that's what gets you motivated. That's what gets the crowd motivated, and it helps you ease into the game better." The Pacers were a surprising contender for homecourt in the East behind All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who is looking forward to leading a team into the playoffs. "We've just got to go out there and play at a high level," Oladipo told reporters. "It's not going to be easy, but it ain't been easy all year for us. We've got to go out there with that mentality and try to win it. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to go make it close and have fun, we're trying to win."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

ABOUT THE PACERS (48-34): Indiana was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Cavaliers last spring but is a different team this time around thanks to the presence of Oladipo, who was acquired last summer in the deal that sent Paul George to Oklahoma City. Oladipo led the team in scoring at an average of 23.1 points and is part of a roster that enjoys being around one another. "Great group of guys, man," point guard Darren Collison - another new addition this season - told the team's website. "Everybody is great people. It's one thing to have great players, but I've been on a lot of teams. When you play with great people, it makes everybody's job easier. Everybody's listening. Nobody has egos. You come in the locker room and everybody's smiling. It's positivity. We trust each other."

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (50-32): Cleveland's advantage over every other team in the East is the presence of superstar forward LeBron James, who played in all 82 regular-season games for the first time in his career. James, 33, averaged career highs in rebounds (8.6) and assists (9.1) while adding 27.5 points on 54.2 percent shooting. "Has it been my best year? It's the best I've felt all season and I've got the numbers to back it up and I've got the wins to back it up as well," James told reporters. "Me, personally, I've just tried to be available to my teammates every single night and do everything that I could to win ball games. Either by scoring, by rebounding, by defending, by assisting, taking charges, whatever the case may be. Statistically it all speaks for itself."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers SG Rodney Hood (Achilles) sat out the final two games of the regular season but is expected to be available on Sunday.

2. Pacers C Domantas Sabonis closed the regular season strong with 30 points last Sunday at Charlotte and a double-double in the season finale on Tuesday.

3. Indiana took three of the four meetings this season, though all four came before Cleveland remade its roster at the trade deadline.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 121, Pacers 113