Two to play. That's all that's left of the regular season. The Pacers started the year off well, and fingers crossed, they seem to be ending it the same way. Winners of five of the last six, we've finally ascended to the top of Cleaning the Glass's "last-two-weeks" efficiency differential rankings.

Cleveland, meanwhile, has dropped four of their last seven and rank 22nd in the same standings. Good news for the Pacers.

The game, beyond division rivalry, is quite important for playoff standings. If the Pacers win tonight, they'll be even with Cleveland for the season and secure the tie-breaker. In other words, they'll jump up a spot (or possibly two depending on the outcome of Orlando - Philadelphia). Speaking of Magic - Sixers...

Indy has more or less been dependable in big games so far this year and we'll need that trend to continue tonight. Despite not playing their best basketball of the season recently, the Cavs won their last game behind Donovan Mitchell's 29 point outburst.

According to Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, "[Mitchell] understands the moment. He understands how much his voice means to his teammates. I think [last game] he did a great job on both sides of the ball. I thought he performed at a high level, but I thought he used his voice and led at a high level, too."

The Pacers' perimeter defense will have its hands full tonight. Would be great to see a playoff worth performance on that side of the ball.

Injuries

Shoutout to Drunkle Reg

Some may say it was crazy to turn the Twitter account over to a person who bases all of his usernames around being drunk... but the artist formerly known as Drunkin' Dutchman has been killing it.

Thank you and keep up the good work!

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:30 PM ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

Tagged in:

Game Thread