And for the first time, the Cleveland Cavaliers missed the injured Darius Garland as the Pacers upset the Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern Conference semi-finals 121-112 in Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with thirty-three points, and Evan Mobley scored twenty points with ten rebounds.
Game two will be in Cleveland on Tuesday as Cleveland will attempt to tie the series at one game apiece.
Swashbucklings
1) Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, but he shot the ball thirty times (13 of 30) and hit only one of his eleven shots from three-point land.
2) I know Mitchell is the focus of the offense with Darius Garland injured, but Cleveland works best when Mitchell takes fewer shots, not more.
It's not Mitchell's fault that the shots from Garland need to be replaced somewhere, but it showed that Mitchell cannot be the be-all and end-all for the Cavaliers to be effective.
3) Indiana likes to force a faster pace, and it seemed the Cavaliers wore down as the evening progressed.
It's fair to wonder if the pace will be a factor if the series goes six or seven games.
4) Indiana shot 53 percent from the floor and 52 percent from three-point distance while Cleveland shot 45 percent overall and a pitiful 23 percent from three.
5) A scary point came when DeAndre Hunter took a huge bump on the floor and appeared fortunate to avoid injury.
Hunter continued to play, but for a minute, it looked very ugly.
6) It's one loss, and even though the loss of home-court advantage (for now) is concerning, the bigger concern is Darius Garland.
When will Garland return, and how effective will he be when that happens?
For all that Ty Jerome has delivered this season, he isn't quick defensively (making Tyrese Haliburton even more effective for Indiana), and Indiana took advantage of Jerome's defense.
7) Cleveland didn't look sharp off a week's layoff, but Indiana wasn't active either, and it didn't affect them.
Game two at home is now a must-have.
No comments:
Post a Comment