The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lue says James needs to be more aggressive
Hood: ‘We can’t play any worse than we did’ in Game 1 loss to Pacers
Simple reasoning gives the Cavaliers confidence they will play better in Game 2 on April 18 than they did when they were embarrassed by the Indiana Pacers in Game 1.
“We can’t play any worse than we did,” guard Rodney Hood said after a film session and walkthrough on April 16 in Independence. “We just have to take care of the ball and get good shots. Defensively, we did a good job, but offensively we can’t give them any ammo to come at us.”
The Pacers led, 25-8, before LeBron James took a shot for the Cavaliers and went on to win, 98-80, in the series opener on April 15 at Quicken Loans Arena.
The only time the Cavaliers scored fewer than 80 points in a playoff game since James returned to Cleveland for the 2014-15 season was in the 2016 Finals when they were beaten by the Golden State Warriors, 110-77, in Oakland. The Cavaliers won four of the next five games and had a championship parade.
So, no, the Cavaliers are not worried about being a game down to the Pacers. After the 7 p.m. tip for Game 2 at Quicken Loans Arena the series shifts to Indianapolis for Game 3 on April 20 and Game 4 on April 22.
The Cavs shot just 38.5 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers in the opener. They never led and after 4-4 never tied the Pacers again.
Part of the problem with the slow start was Hood was called for his second foul 3:24 into the game. Kyle Korver replaced him. Less than four minutes later, Korver was pulled, and he didn’t play again.
Already battling a foot injury, illness prevented Korver from being in Independence. Coach Tyronn Lue afterward said he hasn’t had his best five players on the floor at the same time, and though he didn’t name him, Lue hinted Korver is the missing piece. Korver’s status will be updated on April 17.
Lue said he is thinking about juggling the lineup, but won’t say what he has planned. He might give more playing time to guard J.R. Smith and center Tristan Thompson — the two holdovers who along with James and Kevin Love from the championship team two years ago. It would be a radical departure from Game 1 in which Thompson played only two minutes.
“We’ve been talking about it as a staff,” Lue said. “I just know those guys have been through everything with us the last four years and we won a championship, went to three Finals. Tristan and J.R. played a big part of that. We understand that and trust me, we know that.”
Focus after the loss was placed on Jeff Green for going 0-for-7 from the field and grabbing only four rebounds. Hood and George Hill combined for only 16 points. Lue wants more from those three players, but he also wants more from the Big Two — James and Love.
“(James) has to be aggressive and set the tone early,” Lue said. “We talked about that today. Being aggressive early, setting the tone, especially for these new guys, bringing these guys along. He understood that but once again, he’s always a guy trying to get his teammates off early, get those guys going, then try to feel the game out. But be ready to set a tone.”
James ended up with a triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, but his slow start was a major reason the Cavaliers trailed, 3314, at the end of the first quarter. The crowd at The Q was taken out of the game.
Love never did get going. He took eight shots in 34 minutes and finished with nine points — 8.6 points below his regular season average.
“(Eight shots) is not enough,” Lue said. “I talked to him earlier today about he had small guys on him and he’s floating out to 3. He has to demand the ball in the post. He said he has to be more aggressive.
“They’re trying to be physical with him on his post-ups, but he’s seen that a lot of times before. Our guards got to be able to deliver the ball on target and he has to be aggressive when he gets it.”
Love averages 15.5 points per game in the playoffs.