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Game 4 and the Cavs have a chance to tie the series and regain home court advantage, although HCA no longer seems to matter much. Just ask the Celtics. In fact, all four home teams lost the first game of their series in the semis.
The problem for the Pacers is twofold. One, they got hammered on the glass. They were outscored 31-9 on second chance points and a 22-point deficit is tough to make up. Throw in 13 turnovers and the Cavs had 100 field goal attempts to 80 for the Pacers; a shocking disparity.
The Pacers will surely be focused on reducing turnovers and getting more defensive rebounds as they can’t win when taking 20 fewer shots. The Pacers are a fast break team so when the Cavs take a shot they tend to leak out, or at least get in position to run in transition instead of crashing the boards. This creates offensive rebound opportunities for the Cavs and they had 18 offensive boards to 4 for the Pacers.
Second, the Pacers need to improve their ability to score against the Cavaliers’ zone defense, which turned the game in the Cavs' favor in the second quarter. The Pacers came back from being down by 15 in the first quarter to tie the game, but the Cavs went to the zone and won the second quarter 34-13.
When Mobley wasn't at the top of the zone the Cavs used the long-armed Hunter and it was still a problem. The Cavs deployed it extensively in the second quarter in which the Pacers scored 13 points on 5-of-22 shooting, missing all 11 3-pointers and turning the ball over six times to post a horrendous efficiency figure of 0.46. - Indy columnist
It's a nice curveball to throw at us. I think Hunter at the top and Mobley covering a lot of space in the back. They've got the personnel to do it and it bothered us. We gotta make adjustments and figure out what we can do better when they throw that at us. - TJ McConnell
Coach Rick Carlisle articulated a third issue.
This was a very poor effort in the beginning of the game, through too many parts of the game. It’s on all of us. We all own it. Very clearly I didn't have these guys ready for this, so I take responsibility for that.
They out-fought us, out-rebounded us. That can't happen. It doesn't matter who they have or what they do. - Pascal Siakam
We need to show some fight. I don't think we showed much of that tonight, to be honest. - TJ McConnell
Game 2 hero Tyrese Haliburton scored 4 points and no doubt he will be on a redemption mission in Game 4.
Mobley was a big part of the reason Haliburton was as quiet as he was. Haliburton was 2-of-8 from the floor. Four of his six misses were blocked and two of them were blocked by Mobley. Even more frequently, Haliburton was dissuaded from even attempting a shot because Mobley was near him. - Indy columnist
Mobley has been "dissuading" shooters all year. It doesn't show up in the stats but how many times have we seen dribblers get into a crouch and then realize Mobley is in front of them and back it out or pass off?
In addition to figuring out how to improve the rebounding and the offense against the Cavs’ zone, the Pacers need to find a way to slow down Donovan Mitchell.
He's a great player. We’ve gotta make it harder on him. I don't know what else to tell you. He's opportunistic, he's been living at the free throw line. We have to keep him off the free throw line. It's one thing if he makes difficult shots over a hand. It's another thing if we march him to the free throw line and give him and-1s. We can't do that. - Rick Carlisle
In Game 4 I expect the Pacers to “show some fight” as McConnell said. Siakam said the Cavs “out-fought us” and Carlisle said the Pacers showed a “very poor effort” in the beginning of the game. So as physical as the Pacers have been playing I expect them to be even more physical at the start of Game 4. It could get rough very early. The refs need to make some calls away from the ball early to set the boundaries.
I think the Cavs have found the way they want to play against this team and will try for a repeat of Game 3. Hopefully Hunter’s thumb will be improved and he’ll shoot better than 1-for-5 on 3’s. Two more days could help Mobley’s sprained ankle as well.
On the other hand, it’s the Pacers who now need to make adjustments as the Cavs’ zone defense and offensive rebounding were devastating in Game 3. The Pacers may have to back off their transition game a bit in order to commit more players to the defensive glass rather than leaking out.
I also think Haliburton was embarrassed with only scoring 4 points in Game 3 while Mitchell had 43. Haliburton will come out early and try to make an impact.
The problem for the Pacers is twofold. One, they got hammered on the glass. They were outscored 31-9 on second chance points and a 22-point deficit is tough to make up. Throw in 13 turnovers and the Cavs had 100 field goal attempts to 80 for the Pacers; a shocking disparity.
The Pacers will surely be focused on reducing turnovers and getting more defensive rebounds as they can’t win when taking 20 fewer shots. The Pacers are a fast break team so when the Cavs take a shot they tend to leak out, or at least get in position to run in transition instead of crashing the boards. This creates offensive rebound opportunities for the Cavs and they had 18 offensive boards to 4 for the Pacers.
Second, the Pacers need to improve their ability to score against the Cavaliers’ zone defense, which turned the game in the Cavs' favor in the second quarter. The Pacers came back from being down by 15 in the first quarter to tie the game, but the Cavs went to the zone and won the second quarter 34-13.
When Mobley wasn't at the top of the zone the Cavs used the long-armed Hunter and it was still a problem. The Cavs deployed it extensively in the second quarter in which the Pacers scored 13 points on 5-of-22 shooting, missing all 11 3-pointers and turning the ball over six times to post a horrendous efficiency figure of 0.46. - Indy columnist
It's a nice curveball to throw at us. I think Hunter at the top and Mobley covering a lot of space in the back. They've got the personnel to do it and it bothered us. We gotta make adjustments and figure out what we can do better when they throw that at us. - TJ McConnell
Coach Rick Carlisle articulated a third issue.
This was a very poor effort in the beginning of the game, through too many parts of the game. It’s on all of us. We all own it. Very clearly I didn't have these guys ready for this, so I take responsibility for that.
They out-fought us, out-rebounded us. That can't happen. It doesn't matter who they have or what they do. - Pascal Siakam
We need to show some fight. I don't think we showed much of that tonight, to be honest. - TJ McConnell
Game 2 hero Tyrese Haliburton scored 4 points and no doubt he will be on a redemption mission in Game 4.
Mobley was a big part of the reason Haliburton was as quiet as he was. Haliburton was 2-of-8 from the floor. Four of his six misses were blocked and two of them were blocked by Mobley. Even more frequently, Haliburton was dissuaded from even attempting a shot because Mobley was near him. - Indy columnist
Mobley has been "dissuading" shooters all year. It doesn't show up in the stats but how many times have we seen dribblers get into a crouch and then realize Mobley is in front of them and back it out or pass off?
In addition to figuring out how to improve the rebounding and the offense against the Cavs’ zone, the Pacers need to find a way to slow down Donovan Mitchell.
He's a great player. We’ve gotta make it harder on him. I don't know what else to tell you. He's opportunistic, he's been living at the free throw line. We have to keep him off the free throw line. It's one thing if he makes difficult shots over a hand. It's another thing if we march him to the free throw line and give him and-1s. We can't do that. - Rick Carlisle
In Game 4 I expect the Pacers to “show some fight” as McConnell said. Siakam said the Cavs “out-fought us” and Carlisle said the Pacers showed a “very poor effort” in the beginning of the game. So as physical as the Pacers have been playing I expect them to be even more physical at the start of Game 4. It could get rough very early. The refs need to make some calls away from the ball early to set the boundaries.
I think the Cavs have found the way they want to play against this team and will try for a repeat of Game 3. Hopefully Hunter’s thumb will be improved and he’ll shoot better than 1-for-5 on 3’s. Two more days could help Mobley’s sprained ankle as well.
On the other hand, it’s the Pacers who now need to make adjustments as the Cavs’ zone defense and offensive rebounding were devastating in Game 3. The Pacers may have to back off their transition game a bit in order to commit more players to the defensive glass rather than leaking out.
I also think Haliburton was embarrassed with only scoring 4 points in Game 3 while Mitchell had 43. Haliburton will come out early and try to make an impact.
