Live Thread: Cavs @ Pacers, Game 4
2018-04-22
The Cavs are back in Indiana again tonight. After giving up an 17 point lead in the 2nd Half of game 3, the Cavs are down 2-1 to the Pacers. This game isn’t a must win, but having to play a must win game in Indiana would be a poor position to be in for game five.
One has to hope the Cavs can right their play. They are making just 9.7 3s a night (12-16) at a 30.9% rate, which is second worse in the playoffs. During the regular season, the Cavs made 12 3s per game (3-30) at a 37.2% rate, which was sixth in the league. The shooting will hopefully return to normal. No one on the team is getting buckets outside of the King.
LeBron James has scored 98 points this series, he’s averaging 32.7 per game. The Cavs have scored just 270 points in three games. James has essentially score 37% of all those points. There’s not much more to say. Cleveland simply needs more guys to make shots.
Defensively, the Cavs haven’t allowed the Pacers to score over 100 and are second in defensive rating for the post season. The struggles haven’t gone away and the their trapping scheme hasn’t been the most effective, but the defense isn’t to blame for the losses.
Tyronn Lue has mentioned Tristan Thompson will probably see minutes this game because of “toughness.” George Hill will miss the game because of his back. This means the Cavs will have to figure out some way to slow Victor Oladipo. Jose Calderon is probably not the answer to that. He’s starting anyways though.
Right now, I’m not confident the team can figure the offense out. At least with Jose starting, LeBron will be have some help creating shots, but it may not be enough.
Jeez, these Cavs are giving me heart attack and premature aging.
I would copy Indy’s defensive strategy against the Cavs exactly if I was every other team. Indy’s offense sputtered eventually but the sixers and Toronto likely won’t.
I honestly believe the Cavs have more up their sleeve and Lue is holding back. Lue has done this in the past
Ugh. Well he doesn’t have that much up in his sleeves then. We’re struggling against a .500 team for goodness sakes.
it’s a 48 win team…
That we were down on the road to. I don’t think you pull any punches if you are at risk of going down 1-3 in the first round.
not saying it’s a good idea lol
Ok 48 then. Doesn’t matter. If we have real championship aspirations, no way we should be tied this series. Credit to Indiana for everything they’ve done great so far, but we all know we should have been WAAAAAAYYYY better than we’ve shown.
Holding back on the road down 1-2 in the first round against a team that blew us out in game one and has been in every single game until the final minute? That seems unnecessarily risky.
Sounds exactly like Lue actually….
I don’t think even Lue would do that. I mean Indy had the lead in the fourth. If he actually had something up his sleeve and didn’t use it, that is either insane confidence or insanity.
I don’t see any sane person would keep his “tricks” when he’s on the verge of being possibly down 3-1.
Lance is just a manic loose cannon. All the time. Tired of his act.
i have no idea how this series is 2-2. Feels like Cavs should be fishing, yet here we are. LET’S GO
Enjoy the fact that LeBron makes everything possible, and the Cavs are actually talented enough to overcome 33 starting lineups, a mid-season roster flip, Tyronne Lue, and the usual Cleveland karma…
AMEN! Hopefully, the blessing continues!
If it wasn’t a jump ball, which they called initially, and it wasn’t a flagrant, anyone know what they called and why they were able to change it from a jump ball?
Think they called the foul, before the tie up. Which was the right call.
They called Stephenson for being a tool… should be eight shots and the ball…
Lol! Explanation on TNT now from the NBA’s Joe Borgia — simultaneous foul and jump-ball calls by different refs. Foul takes precedence. Review was to see if there were any extracurriculars.
Ref who called a jump ball is a total moron
Grey pants…black pants…No pants Lance… I don’t care
LMAO… this meme never gets old.
This team is like my son’s rec baseball team–a work in progress. I do believe they will be better for having these game with the Pacers… being tested like they haven’t really been in the previous three years…
I feel the same, but man they look sh*tty right now. It’s a bad matchup for them, but there is still the MAJOR issue of not having a 2nd go to scorer.
maybe this win gets Cavs going as they head home….need to finish this Friday….no excuses
Whew!
I hope we grow as a team and get better. We need to.
Listening to Marv and Webber on that jump ball — “It’s tough to tell who the aggressor was” — is giving me flashbacks to Tirico and Hubie on Olynyk-Love.
oh that was unreal.
Exactly.
Wild game. Thank god they pulled it out, Korver and LeBron saved them.
KYLE KORVER IS THE BALLS.
http://s3media.247sports.com/Uploads/Assets/435/34/3034435.gif
Pulled it out. Great d for the last 5-6 minutes
!#)($*& YOU LANCE!!!! TAKE THAT L!
Good call at the end. Thank goodness.
Lance needs kicked out of the league.
Yeah, that was some of the dirtiest play I have seen in years.
how is Lance still in this league…they showed Silver at that game…how does he allow Lance to play rest of series? just embarrassing form of basketball
Thank God the refs got this right–Stephensen is a plague… please, C-Webb, be quiet….
SUCK IT, LANCE.
WHEW!
I’ll give this to Jeff. He’s mature and collected
He played fairly well tonight.
A foul. Good call. At least Green did not get a tech.
Come on, Jeff.
Got 1! Two possession game.
They are nuts if they don’t call a foul on lance. Did he have some ball? Yes while his arms were wrapped around greens neck
You can’t put your hands around a guys head and then tackle him even when you get the ball.
So you can grab the arms and head off the player and it’s not a foul?
And then pull a player down and lie on top of him?
Marv thinks Stephenson got all ball on Green!
Better ratings if Indy gets ball back
It seems like both of these jump balls should have been fouls. He has his arm wrapped around Green (and previously LeBron’s) heads. He’s making tons of contact when grabbing the ball.
Geez. I have zero confidence they get this right.
Good Gravy. Stephenson gets away with everything
Yeah, that’s not a Lance foul? Wtf? Is he allowed ANY contact?
Wraps him around the neck and pulls him down and that’s a tie up?
That’s a flagrant on stephenson. he tackled green
How is that a jump ball. Grabbed him around the back of the neck. These refs are idiotss
How that’s not a foul.?
HOW IS THAT NOT A FOUL ON LANCE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
This has to be a foul
What is green doing. I’m going to puke.
God, Lance is trash…grow the F up, you fool
Can we hire McMillan if we make it to the second round?
He’s so mediocre.
Probably yeah, but he has made this series close with some amount of help from Lue.
Lance unraveling
Wow huge shot dipo
Glad Korver didnt keep his head down after the 4 early misses in the first quarter. Love should take notes.
I’m starting to believe this series is going seven.
We need to win game 5 first. Dipo was awful both games & we won 1 of 2.
Hope Hill’s back & Love’s thumb improve before Wed.
Thank god for KK. This was Love’s worst game as a Cav. I don’t know how banged up he is, but low effort too often tonight.
Agree.
How does Lue continue to NOT PLAY CEDI OSMAN A SINGLE MINUTE OUTSIDE OF GAME 1 GARBAGE TIME. How on EARTH is this our head coach? He’s absolute trash.
THIS GAME HAS TAKEN 2 YEARS OFF MY LIFE. AND MADE ME GO FULL NOMAD
Free Throwzus!
Freezus!
Kyle with a great job of getting open.
Right guy to get the ball into. Sink two kyle
Will never understand why guys overplay so much to one side that they allow a straight-line drive to the hoop.
Put the FT guys in.
Korver. Calderon. Love. Green. Hood. Pick 4 with Bron.
these games are intense….nothing easy
that Green Nance Korver bear hug was something
Just hit your freebies.
Get ball inbound
THAT WAS NOT A FOUL REFS!! JUST GOOD D!
I don’t get that call. Let them play, ref.
where was the foul there?
Whew! It has not been pretty.
Nance in for D.
also jeff green fumbling two rebounds was just classic
i about died
No threes and you got this.
Cavs in control. Have to make fts after this Indy possession
why JR crashed the oboards there i have no clue
Got soooo lucky.
JR non-existent after 1st quarter.
OMG AGAIN
WHEW that’s like Young’s fourth missed layup.
That was not a great shot out of a time out
OMG
The Cavs have the experienced line up in.