Cavs Turn Down The Heat, Turn Attention To Indy

The top-seeded Cavs looked great in a 1st Round sweep on Miami, and now put their focus on a familiar league foe in the Pacers.

Let’s go back in time. About a year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers just had a disappointing

end to their playoff run by losing to Boston in 5 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Injuries

and a lack of performance had kept us from really improving from the last season. As a fan, I

was wondering if we would stay stuck in a cycle of mediocrity like so many teams do. There was buzz about Mitchell and Garland not being able to play together. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen had both struggled in playoff games with Cleveland and questions about whether they could handle the intensity were rising.

Surprisingly, the Cavs did not break up their core during the offseason. In fact, the only major

change that took place in the organization was the firing of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the hiring of Kenny Atkinson to replace him. This worked wonders as the Cavs jumped out of the gate to win 15 games in a row. You know the rest.

As the playoffs approached, the buzz of Cleveland not being able to win in the postseason started coming up again. Yes, they had a historical regular season and were the top seed in the East, but the playoffs are a different beast. And while a first round sweep does not quite prove all the nay-sayers wrong, (even if the combined victory margin in the series is the highest ever for a postseason series at Cavs +122) this team looks like they are playing to prove the haters wrong.

Mitchell and Garland went from looking like a clunky fit to being one of, if not the best backcourt duo in the league. Jarrett Allen was dominant in the first round against the Heat, to the point where he alone completely demoralized Miami in game 4.

Speaking of game 4, let’s recap this historic blowout that I even had a hard time watching. Miami never had a chance to avoid the brooms. The Cavs jumped out to an early 33-5 run and never looked back. The starters did not play most of the second half, and it looked like the Heat quit before the game even started.

Leading scorers:

Cavs:

Donovan Mitchell: 22 points, 5 assists

DeAndre Hunter: 19 points, 1 steal

Heat:

Nikola Jovic: 24 points, 5 rebounds

Bam Adebayo: 13 points, 12 rebounds

Cleveland really put the league on notice with their dominance in the series. This was not just a win. It was a “Hey, we are championship contenders” win. While Cleveland was expected to beat Miami, no one expected it in quite this fashion. This was utter domination, even with injuries and off-games from our stars. If Cleveland wants to stay successful this postseason, they must replicate things they did in the first series, especially the last two games.

Series 2 Preview: Bring on Indiana

Cleveland's next opponent is Central Division rival Indiana, who they will play in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games, including a wild game 5 overtime win. This season, the Cavaliers have lost 3 of the 4 matchups against the Pacers, although two of the losses came right at the end of the year while the starters were being rested.

This postseason, the Cavaliers so far have the highest 3-point percentage of any team at 44%. They also have the highest offensive rating, (137.4) highest net rating, (33.3: This takes offensive and defensive rating into account) 3rd highest defensive rating, (104.2) and 3rd highest assists per game. (25.8) The Pacers meanwhile have the most assists per game, (30) the 2nd highest offensive rating (119.9) and the 2nd highest 3-point percentage. (39.3%)

Indiana shoots a lot of threes, play very quickly, and get out in transition a lot. All-Star PG Tyrese Haliburton is a great playmaker and distributor who can take over when he wants to. They also have one of the best benches in the NBA. In order for the Cavs to win this series, they are going to need to play clean and not commit turnovers, limit the Pacers 3-point attempts and looks, force Haliburton to be one-dimensional, and match their energy off the bench.

Darius Garland is still considered questionable with a toe injury, but the hope is that he will be good to go before game 1. He’s had time to rest after sitting out the last two games against Miami, and will play a crucial role in the playoffs moving forward. In the words of Donovan Mitchell during the game 4 postgame interview: “I always love rest”. The Cavaliers have earned it.

Sources:

ESPN

StatMuse