The visiting Cleveland Cavaliers might need a scorecard in their Central Division matchup Friday with the new-look Indiana Pacers.
Perhaps no team in the NBA reshaped its roster more than the Pacers before Thursday’s trade deadline. First, they sent swingman Caris LeVert to the Cavs last Sunday in a deal that appeared to be consummated during Cleveland’s 98-85 victory against Indiana.
The Pacers followed that with a blockbuster trade Tuesday that sent Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. Thompson was a first-round pick of the Cavs in 2011 and spent his first nine seasons with Cleveland.
The new players are expected to make their Indiana debuts Friday night. The Pacers are extremely excited about acquiring Haliburton, whom they hope to eventually pair in the backcourt with Malcolm Brogdon, currently sidelined with a sore right Achilles tendon.
“You don’t get a guy like that unless you give up a lot, and we did,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The coach likes Haliburton’s playmaking ability and 3-point shooting, among other things. He was averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 assists and shooting 41.3 percent from the 3-point line with the Kings.
“You can never have too much shooting in today’s game,” Carlisle said.
Hield has never met a shot he didn’t like. He averaged 14.4 points and 4.0 rebounds and was shooting 36.8 percent from the 3-point line for the Kings this season. He’s a 40 percent career shooter from behind the arc.
The Cavs are going through some growing pains, as well, as they are fitting LeVert into their lineup. He scored 11 points off the bench in Wednesday’s 105-92 victory over San Antonio.
“He has the ability to create and get to the paint,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s a complete offensive player.”
Cleveland star Darius Garland, who returned to the team after a four-game absence due to a sore lower back, called LeVert “the missing piece.” Garland had a game-high 27 points against the Spurs.
“We’re trying different things,” Bickerstaff said. “We’re experimenting with some of those things. We’ll see what works best.”
The Cavs have won the first two meetings with Indiana this year, most recently 98-85 last Sunday when they came back from a 20-point deficit to win.
Cedi Osman had 22 points in that game, 18 in the fourth quarter, and forward Kevin Love finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Jarrett Allen has been on a tear as of late and has averaged 19.7 points and 17.6 rebounds in his past three games. Coincidently, that recent tear came after he was left off the Eastern Conference All-Star team. He has 29 double-doubles on the season.
For the Pacers, who have lost four in a row, red-hot guard Chris Duarte had 22 points against the Cavs last Sunday.
Carlisle said he wants to forget Indiana’s last outing, a 133-112 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday. Duarte had 25 points against the Hawks.
The Cavs have won three in a row and four of their past five heading into Friday’s game. Lauri Markkanen, sidelined with a sprained ankle, did some non-contact work at practice Tuesday but is not expected to play Friday.
