The Indiana Pacers stole home court in their second-round matchup, and are just biding their time to send the Cavaliers packing for the summer. Tyrese Haliburton’s three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining capped a 20-point comeback in the second half, putting the Cavs in a 0-2 hole as the series shifts to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Donovan Mitchell has to feel like LeBron James during his first run with the Cavs, where he played Golden State in the Finals with all of his star supporting cast injured. Mitchell had 48 points, but the Cavs were unable to stop Indiana from scoring eight points in the final 47.9 seconds, en route to a 120-119 win.
All Stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley missed Game Two with injuries, along with key component De'Andre Hunter. Garland has a sprained toe that makes it difficult to cut laterally, which was his fourth consecutive game missed. Mobley sprained his ankle after landing on the foot of Pacers’ center Myles Turner in Game One. Hunter dislocated the thumb on his right hand, which is his shooting hand, after a hard fall to the floor in Game One, which has been moved to a sprain. All three players took part in a shootaround on Thursday, but their status for Game Three remains unclear.
What remains clear is crystal…the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson got pantsed on national television in the fourth quarter. Cleveland was outscored 36-21, where Indiana’s last lead before Haliburton's dagger was at 9-6 with 8:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Cleveland and Boston both were poised to make the Eastern Conference Finals, and predicted by just about every media outlet at the All Star break. The Cavs’ finished just three games ahead of Boston, despite having a double-digit lead earlier this season. Boston got within two games in March. Both are now down 0-2, with Boston blowing a 20-point lead in each of the first two games against the New York Knicks.
The difference between the Cavaliers and Celtics is experience. The Celtics are the defending NBA Champions, and can sweep the next four games. The Cavs have to win four of the next five against a team they are 2-5 against dating back to the end of last season. Granted two of those losses were at the end of the regular season last month, where Cleveland sat all of their starters except center Jarrett Allen. Wanting to play in all 82 games, Allen suited up for just one minute in the season finale. Allen is likely also dealing with sore ribs after taking a hard fall on his back during Game One, which is the second consecutive year he suffered a rib injury in the second round. Allen broke a rib during Game Four of the Cavs’ opening round series against the Orlando Magic last season, and missed the entire second round series against Boston.
When the Cavs locked up the Central Division in early March, Atkinson began toying with lineups to see how he could maximize depth in the playoffs. Cleveland received high praise for the number of players seeing significant minutes all the way down the roster all season. Now Cleveland has to resort to using backups in a scenario that has become a must-win for the rest of the postseason. The Cavs have no remaining cushion unless they sweep each of the next three games. Indiana won 50 games during the regular season, and whooped the Cavs by 15 in Cleveland during their first regular season meeting.
Minnesota can get back into their series with Golden State on Thursday night, now that Steph Curry will be out at least a week with a hamstring injury. Oklahoma City woke up and beat the daylights out of Memphis in Game Two on Wednesday. Should Boston right the ship in Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon, all the pressure is on Cleveland to follow suit.
Their star player (Mitchell) cannot play 2-on-5 with Allen. Mobley won Defensive Player of the Year after San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama was shut down in late February with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, making him ineligible for any postseason awards. Atkinson spent more than six minutes on Thursday mentioning his team’s injuries combined with no-calls by the officiating crew in Game Two. The NBA admitted in their postgame report that several lane violations were missed, including one that Haliburton committed directly resulting in his game winner. Guard Ty Jerome was a finalist for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, and was 1-14 from the floor in starting for Garland on Tuesday night.
The Pacers were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals last season by the Celtics. The clock is ticking down on Cleveland’s chances to deny Indiana a return trip. Remember that Indiana took down the Knicks in seven thrilling games in the second round last year, so a rematch with bigger stakes is certainly on the table.
The facts are evident that for Cleveland to have any shot on Friday, at least one of the injured three needs to return to the lineup and contribute. Garland is the most likely, but then you have to account for his lack of production in the playoffs in three trips thus far. Being dominated by Boston a year ago got two-time NBA Coach of the Year J.B. Bickerstaff fired as head coach in Cleveland. A sweep by Indiana may end up seeing Garland be moved this summer.
I could be entirely wrong about Garland, or Cleveland taking four of the next five to advance. However, wine-colored glasses see just fine when you have no momentum working in your favor.
-JC24
Cleveland and Boston both were poised to make the Eastern Conference Finals, and predicted by just about every media outlet at the All Star break. The Cavs’ finished just three games ahead of Boston, despite having a double-digit lead earlier this season. Boston got within two games in March. Both are now down 0-2, with Boston blowing a 20-point lead in each of the first two games against the New York Knicks.
The difference between the Cavaliers and Celtics is experience. The Celtics are the defending NBA Champions, and can sweep the next four games. The Cavs have to win four of the next five against a team they are 2-5 against dating back to the end of last season. Granted two of those losses were at the end of the regular season last month, where Cleveland sat all of their starters except center Jarrett Allen. Wanting to play in all 82 games, Allen suited up for just one minute in the season finale. Allen is likely also dealing with sore ribs after taking a hard fall on his back during Game One, which is the second consecutive year he suffered a rib injury in the second round. Allen broke a rib during Game Four of the Cavs’ opening round series against the Orlando Magic last season, and missed the entire second round series against Boston.
When the Cavs locked up the Central Division in early March, Atkinson began toying with lineups to see how he could maximize depth in the playoffs. Cleveland received high praise for the number of players seeing significant minutes all the way down the roster all season. Now Cleveland has to resort to using backups in a scenario that has become a must-win for the rest of the postseason. The Cavs have no remaining cushion unless they sweep each of the next three games. Indiana won 50 games during the regular season, and whooped the Cavs by 15 in Cleveland during their first regular season meeting.
Minnesota can get back into their series with Golden State on Thursday night, now that Steph Curry will be out at least a week with a hamstring injury. Oklahoma City woke up and beat the daylights out of Memphis in Game Two on Wednesday. Should Boston right the ship in Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon, all the pressure is on Cleveland to follow suit.
Their star player (Mitchell) cannot play 2-on-5 with Allen. Mobley won Defensive Player of the Year after San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama was shut down in late February with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, making him ineligible for any postseason awards. Atkinson spent more than six minutes on Thursday mentioning his team’s injuries combined with no-calls by the officiating crew in Game Two. The NBA admitted in their postgame report that several lane violations were missed, including one that Haliburton committed directly resulting in his game winner. Guard Ty Jerome was a finalist for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, and was 1-14 from the floor in starting for Garland on Tuesday night.
The Pacers were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals last season by the Celtics. The clock is ticking down on Cleveland’s chances to deny Indiana a return trip. Remember that Indiana took down the Knicks in seven thrilling games in the second round last year, so a rematch with bigger stakes is certainly on the table.
The facts are evident that for Cleveland to have any shot on Friday, at least one of the injured three needs to return to the lineup and contribute. Garland is the most likely, but then you have to account for his lack of production in the playoffs in three trips thus far. Being dominated by Boston a year ago got two-time NBA Coach of the Year J.B. Bickerstaff fired as head coach in Cleveland. A sweep by Indiana may end up seeing Garland be moved this summer.
I could be entirely wrong about Garland, or Cleveland taking four of the next five to advance. However, wine-colored glasses see just fine when you have no momentum working in your favor.
-JC24