The Pacers have stunned the city of Cleveland in the first two games of the second round.
Despite winning 64 games and obtaining the number one seed, Cleveland is in a precarious situation. Down 0-2 while heading to Indiana, Kenny Atkinson and the Cleveland Cavaliers are searching for answers to the Indiana Pacers.
After the end of game one, there was skepticism around Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter’s availability for game two.
All three were ruled out, and Dean Wade and Ty Jerome were replaced as starters. Hope was not lost, but it began to worry the Cavs faithful.
Through the majority of the game, it felt like the Cavs were going to sneak off with a shorthanded victory. With a minute and six seconds left, Max Strus hits a three-pointer to give the Cavs a seven-point lead. In most cases, this would be “the dagger”. On Tuesday night, it was not enough.
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Teams have a 3-1,640 record when trailing by 7+ points in the final minute of the Playoffs. That’s a .18% winning percentage. To be the team that is a part of two of those wins? Highly impressive. What is their secret?
FLUID AGGRESSION
Indiana, known for their aggression on both ends of the floor, used this to their advantage in game two.
The Pacers were able to get up 28 shots in the closing quarter. Compare this to the entire first half, when they had 34 attempts, and you can begin to understand how this comeback happened.
During the first half, Cleveland’s defense gave the hope they needed. Jarrett Allen was everywhere, deterring shots from the rim, even forcing a few turnovers by being in the right spot.
Andrew Nembhard, who tallied five first-half turnovers, began to recognize the help and sprayed the ball around to keep Indy in the fight.
It’s the fourth quarter, and Cleveland is up by 14. Maintain solid play, and you should still be able to sneak away with a victory.
Indiana never wavered; they never stopped pushing the pace. They took any and every chance to run. One major adjustment was the amount of ball pressure they applied. Cleveland had to work to inbound the ball and make it past half-court.
It became evident that Donovan Mitchell was becoming fatigued. In the final quarter, he had three messy turnovers and could not get a shot to fall, shooting 2/6. Luckily for him and Cleveland, he was getting fouls called on his drives, which was the only thing going right offensively in the fourth.
For the Pacers, they had more energy left in the tank. They found ways to score, even if the initial shot didn’t fall. Indiana scored 11 second-chance points in the fourth quarter. The game was sealed off by Haliburton grabbing his own missed free throw and drilling a step back three.
In the end, the Indiana Pacers willed themselves to a win.
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WHAT IS NEEDED FOR CLEVELAND IN GAME 3?
Number one is and always will be health.
Garland’s absence sticks out like a sore thumb. Even with Mitchell’s historic game two performance, Indiana’s firepower has proven to be too much to handle. As great as Ty Jerome has been all season, he has struggled to scale up against Indiana.
Mobley’s impact is sorely missed as Indy was able to find more openings at the rim without him on the floor. 38% of their shots were at the rim, compared to 28% in game one.
Hunter’s shotmaking was needed, as the Cavs’ offense short-circuited later on.
In clutch time, Indiana is going to play hard and fast. Kenny must prepare this team for the full-court press and heavy pressure during inbounding situations.
It almost seems that when the Pacers can see the light at the end of the tunnel, they channel their inner Usain Bolt. Their pace picks up, fatigue is out of the question, and they stretch through the finish line.
Cleveland is going to have to fight until the very end in order to win. They almost did it in game two. Just a few more minutes of hustle could’ve been the difference between staring down a 2-0 hole or snatching the momentum of the series back. Donovan Mitchell gave his all in game two. Does he have enough gas in the tank for game three?
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