According to Chris Fedor, injuries may be an issue for the Cavs. They already were in Game 1 with Garland being out. Now there could be more.
It was about the injuries — multiple — that suddenly loom over this best-of-seven series.
All-Star point guard Darius Garland missed his third straight game because of a sprained big toe on his left foot that will likely plague him for the remainder of the playoffs.
De’Andre Hunter briefly left the floor in the second half following a hard fall…
Evan Mobley rolled his ankle on an awkward landing at one point and was walking with a noticeable limp.
Donovan Mitchell looked to be laboring for much of the second half — and it wasn’t merely the exhaustion that typically accompanies 48 minutes against relentless, speedy Indiana.
“We gotta check our health status,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said after the loss. “That’s going to be big. A few guys got banged up.” - Fedor
Garland’s status for Tuesday is unclear. There’s still significant pain and swelling. Even if he dresses, it’s fair to wonder how effective he can be. Toe injuries are tricky. Even more so for a player whose game is predicated on speed, quickness, shiftiness, change of direction and beating defenders of the dribble. - Fedor
In addition to the injury concerns the Cavs need to fix their defense. Of the Pacers’ 83 shots only 30 were contested. Only 14 of their 36 3-point attempts were contested. That’s 22 wide open looks. No wonder their shooting percentage from deep was their 4th highest of the year.
From the cleveland.com podcast AI summary:
The argument that the Pacers simply had an outlier shooting night falls flat when considering how many uncontested looks they received.
The Pacers’ offense is designed to stress defenses in unique ways. Their relentless pace, combined with five shooters spread around the perimeter and constant drive-and-kick action, forced Cleveland into difficult decisions. When the Cavaliers over-helped on drives, shooters like Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard made them pay with open threes.
“[The Pacers] make you pay for every little mistake. They stress your defense in a way that some of these other teams can’t,” noted Fedor.
The Cavs were falling for pump fakes, they were out of position, they were getting beat off the dribble. - Ashley Bastock
They continuously were caught over helping, which allowed the Pacers to get open looks. - Ethan Sands
In my opinion the Cavs have been “over helping” all year, and the reason is they don’t trust Strus and Jerome to not get blown by for a layup. When the Pacers forced Strus or Jerome to switch onto Haliburton, Siakam, or Turner the Pacers would attack the weak defender, drawing another Cavalier into the area to help and opening up a kickout and an open 3.
The Pacers came in with a game plan that showed complete understanding of Cleveland’s defensive principles. They anticipated the Cavs’ overhelping, particularly from the weak side — a habit that’s plagued them in every stretch of inconsistency this season.
So Indiana weaponized it. Every time Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen pinched on a drive, every time Isaac Okoro tagged the roller, someone was already relocating to the corner, waiting. - Ethan Sands
It wasn’t just the defense. As Atkinson put it, “The offense let us down.”
Sharpshooter Sam Merrill moved into the starting lineup, giving Indiana defensive weak link Tyrese Haliburton a place to “hide” and allowing pesky Andrew Nembhard to neutralize Mitchell, holding him to 1 of 10 from the field in those matchup minutes. - Fedor
Wow, Nembhard played like an All-Star, hitting 5-for-6 on 3’s and holding Donovan to 1-for-10. Nembhard had 23 points on just 10 shots, 6 assists, and a +21, best on the team, in addition to his great defense on Mitchell. He was the best player on the court.
Haliburton was right behind, going 9-for-15 for 22 points with 13 assists and 3 blocked shots. He's making the Cavaliers pay for passing on him to draft Isaac Okoro.
It goes without saying the Cavs can’t get beat by 30 points in the 3-point game. They can’t let the Pacers hit 53% from deep again, even if it means letting Strus and Jerome and Garland (if he plays) get beat for layups.
The Cavs also need more from Wade and Okoro off the bench. They combined for 2 points in 31 minutes. It's a Catch-22; we need their defense but they can't be trusted to shoot the ball which is partly why Mitchell and Jerome combined for 50 shot attempts.
The 3-point shooting will have to improve dramatically. I said before the game that whenever the Cavs get days off it seems the first game back is a brickfest. That proved true Sunday. But someone pointed out that the four worst 3-point shooting games of the year were all in the last month.
Jerome and Mitchell combined to go 2-for-15 from distance. That has to change. 22 of the Cavs’ 38 three-point shots were uncontested, yet they only made 9, making Sunday the first time all season they failed to make 10 3’s in a game. Maybe they need to shoot more 3’s under game conditions in practice.
Anytime you outscore an opponent 70-38 in the paint you should cruise to an easy win, but the 30-point deficit in 3-point shooting was the killer. The Cavs need to adjust their defense to contest more 3’s and simply knock down more of their open 3’s when they have the ball.
We’ll see if Garland can play at all and if Mitchell, Mobley, and Hunter are affected by injuries. Atkinson will have to decide whether to tweak his rotations and what adjustments to make on offense and defense based on what happened in Game 1.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Darius Garland - QUESTIONABLE (toe)
De'Andre Hunter - QUESTIONABLE (thumb)
Evan Mobley - QUESTIONABLE (ankle)
Donovan Mitchell - PROBABLE (calf)
INDIANA
Isaiah Jackson - OUT (achilles)
