Cavaliers vs. Pacers Tuesday NBA injury report, spread, odds: Cleveland begins life without Jarrett Allen, could lead to more over total results

One of the big reasons that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the best against the spread wagers and Under total teams in the NBA this season is the emergence of Jarrett Allen into an All-Star center. Alas, the Cavs begin life for the foreseeable future without Allen when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. Cleveland is -3 at Caesars Sportsbook after opening at -5.

Allen ranks among the NBA leaders in field goal percentage (2nd at .677 – would be a franchise record), double-doubles (T-8th with 32) and rebounds (10th at 10.8 rpg) but fractured his finger in Sunday's win over Toronto and is out indefinitely. Allen's defense and rebounding have been instrumental in Cleveland leading the NBA in scoring defense (103.2 ppg). The Cavs have been the second-best Under team in the league with 61.3 percent of their games ending that way, and they are the No. 4 ATS team with a cover percentage of 59.

"He's the anchor of our defense," forward Kevin Love said after Monday's practice. "He means so much to this team."

The Cavs are plus-4.4 per 100 possessions this season with Allen on the court compared to +1.9 when he's not. His value over a replacement player per Basketball Reference is 2.8. That's 19th-best in the NBA.

Love could move into the starting lineup and this injury puts more on the shoulders of Evan Mobley, the -450 NBA Rookie of the Year favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. Mobley had nice numbers vs. the Raptors but observers around the team have noticed he might be hitting a rookie wall. Cleveland (37-27) is sitting sixth in the East, three games ahead of No. 7 Toronto and a spot in the play-in tournament.

Indiana (22-44) is playing out the string and traded guard Caris LeVert to Cleveland for Ricky Rubio (injured) and draft picks last month. LeVert is currently hurt and won't play Tuesday.

The Cavs are going for a four-game sweep of the Pacers, who are listing rookie Chris Duarte and Lance Stephenson as questionable. Indiana hasn't been swept by Cleveland since the 2007-08 season. 

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