NBA Playoffs: Cavaliers Chances At Comeback Against Pacers

The Cleveland Cavaliers odds as the top seed in the Eastern Conference have taken a bit because they trail their NBA second-round playoff series 2-0. The Indiana Pacers won the first two games in Cleveland, with Game 3 of the second-round series set for Friday. BetOhio.com wanted to know: How often do No. 1 seeds lose the first two games at home in the conference playoffs and can they come back to win the series?

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How NBA No. 1 Seeds Fare After Losing First Two Games At Home

Year, No 1. Seed	Opponent, round	Series result
2003 Detroit Pistons	New Jersey Nets, conference final	Lost in 4
2005 Phoenix Suns	San Antonio Spurs, conference final	Lost in 5
2015 Atlanta Hawks	Cleveland Cavaliers, conference final	Lost in 4
2017 Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls, first round	Won in 6
2017 Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers, conference final	Lost in 5
2018 Toronto Raptors	Cleveland Cavaliers, second round	Lost in 4
2020 Milwaukee Bucks	Miami Heat, second round	Lost in 5
2025 Cleveland Cavaliers	Indiana Pacers, second round	TBD

Note: This information for Ohio sports betting starts in 2003, when the NBA adopted a best-of-seven format for all rounds (before then, the first round was best of five). This list also does not include any NBA Finals series in which both No. 1 seeds from their respective conferences faced each other. BetOhio.com used data from basketball-reference.com and champsorchumps.us to assemble this information.

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Can Cavaliers Come Back From 2-0 Deficit?

Based on the history of top seeds that lose the first two games of their series at home, the odds for folks backing the Cavs at Ohio sports betting apps don’t look very good right now. That’s because of the seven teams in Cleveland’s shoes during a best-of-seven series this century, only one (the 2017 Boston Celtics) came back from a 2-0 deficit to win the series.

That season, the C’s fell behind 2-0 against the Chicago Bulls in the first round before winning four straight to take the series in six games. But Boston’s luck ran out in the Eastern Conference final when the Celtics again lost Games 1 and 2 at home – to the Cavs – and wound up being eliminated in five games by LeBron James and company.

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook Ohio gives Kenny Atkinson’s bunch +170 odds of winning four out of the final five games of the best-of-seven series against the Pacers. Cleveland enters Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as a two-point road favorite.

With a victory on Friday night, perhaps the Cavs can the 2017 Celtics as a No. 1 seed to overturn a 2-0 series deficit. But the task at hand is daunting, to say the least, for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

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USA Today photo by David Richard

Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan writes for BetOhio.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.