Pacers have answers for Cavaliers’ strengths
The Pacers hold a 2-1 series lead against the three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers, with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Here’s why the Cavs are in trouble and the Pacers can win the series.
The Pacers match up well: Their Game 1 victory wasn’t a fluke, and neither was their Game 3 92-90 win Friday. Coach Nate McMillan’s team plays solid offense and defense, they’re not afraid of Cleveland and they don’t panic no matter how far behind they are. Indiana was down 57-40 at halftime and made it a close game for the final quarter. Don’t forget, Indiana beat Cleveland three of four times in the regular season.
The Pacers know how to stop LeBron James: It’s impossible to eliminate his impact on a game, but the Pacers have made it difficult for James to dominate. Lance Stephenson, Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young, plus help defenders, have kept James in check as much as that’s possible. Indiana’s other defenders have done their job, too. Cleveland had 20 points in the first 19:30 of the second half Friday. The Cavs were 9-for-28 from the field and 1-for-12 on three-pointers and committed 10 turnovers in that stretch.
The Cavs aren’t getting enough help from players not named James or Kevin Love: James had 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Love had 19 points, but the rest of the team weren’t significant contributors on the offensive end. Kyle Korver (zero points) and J.R. Smith were a combined 3-for-14 from the field. While George Hill had 13 points, they’re not getting the necessary scoring production from Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson. This roster hasn’t had a ton of time together since the big trade-deadline deal in February, and that lack of chemistry/familiarity is hurting Cleveland.
Cleveland just can’t sustain the defensive effort for an entire game: The Cavs have held Indiana under 100 in all three games, but when they needed stops, they had serious trouble preventing Indiana from scoring. Victor Oladipo has done his thing (18 points in Game 3), and Bogdanovic not only is making an effort defensively against James, he torched Cleveland for 30 points in Game 3. He buried seven of nine three-point shots. Young had 12 points.