Live Thread: Cavs @ Pacers
2015-02-06
The Cavs are in Naptown tonight to face a slightly less depleted Pacers team. Paul George is still out, but point guard George Hill recently returned and brought a little stability to the team. The Pacers have pulled out wins in three of their last five games and have won their last eight home games. While Indiana sports a record of 18 wins and 32 losses, they are still playing properly. They hold teams to a top ten ranking 97.2 points on 44% shooting; they also allow just 20.8 heaves from beyond the arc, which is sixth best in the league.
The Wine & Gold, over the past ten games, have been limiting teams to 92.1 points on 40.1% shooting. This may be a battle of the defenses.
Pacers center Roy Hibbert has been outstanding this year safeguarding the rim. He’s treating it like a hot new hipster club and just 41.8% of NBA players have the proper beard to ironic tattoo ratio to enter it. He’s saving the Pacers 2.04 points a game. Thankfully, the Cavs are averaging 101.7 points this season, and that’s without weighting the recent win streak games. The Pacers average 95.4 a game. Roy’s not going to alter the outcome too much considering the Pacers can’t capitalize on the points he prevents.
The Cavs should get their 13th win easily tonight. I’m predicting it will end 102-90.
The Pacers will be without front court players Lavoy Allen and Ian Mahinmi, so expect the Cavs to get Kevin Love the ball early and often to force the Pacers into big man foul trouble.
Pacers playing Grind out Pacer ball from last year. CJ Miles playing a little revenge ball against his former team. Still don’t regret not keeping him. Very disappointed again in Love’s play. Even AC started to lose patience with him on his deferring mid range shots with no one on him Blatt benched him a good part of the 3rd. Cavs would have won with more production from him. Just don’t get it. JR started getting hot at the very end. You wonder if more passes went his way. Idk Mosgov kinda fumbled a lot on pseudo dunks in the… Read more »
Seemed like they were just going through the motions tonight and not taking the Pacers seriously…They should have been able to put this away in the 3rd quarter but they let them hang around by being complacent and less than inspired…When they come out with that attitude they revert back to iso ball and lackluster defense…Tough to bring it every game when it seems you have back to backs every other night…They’ll bounce back big against the Lakers…
Absolutey! They were going through the motions and Indy is more formidable than that. Well it happens. Let’s hope they watch film and learn from this. They all looked gassed at the end.
Tough game to watch. I still feel that Blatt does not have control when things don’t go the way he hopes. Love had nothing. No legs at all. No effort on West. He should have replaced him early. He stuck with the rotation of having Delly in for 10 straight minutes instead of either JR or Schumpert. Way too much ISO ball. It was a back to back, but no one played that much last night, so that is not a good excuse. They went back to bad habits and it is on the coach to manage their way out… Read more »
Is interesting how Hibbert took a page out of Duncan’s and the Spurs defensive book and he stays back in the paint when defending LeBron on pick n rolls forcing him to take mid range jump shots which is Not one of LeBron’s strengths.
Taking away the 4th it was a good game for the Cavs but I think Blatt needs to get Love more involved because they will definitely need him come playoff time.
You are so right . The dialogue is starting to change though from team (or Blatt) needs to get Love involved TO Love needs to get involved. Lebron had said he is passing up shots from his passes AND tonight the announcers are starting to say the same thing. If you noticed, Love isn’t saying he is not getting enough touches anymore. He has got to start getting into the post if his shots aren’t falling. He can’t be playing like this come playoff time.
It is amazing how angry some people get after a loss. Cleveland fans are delusional.
I think you’re really referring to George ahahahahah!!!!
George is just as much a self parody bot as Cols.
Fortunately, the next game is at home… and against the Lakers…
On national TV.
Exactly. Thanks God the lakers are next.
Having George Hill back has helped the Pacers out markedly…
if they can squeak into the playoffs and they get George back, I wouldn’t want to play them.
Worried the Cavs woke a sleeping giant. But if they did, maybe they can beat up the Hawks in the playoffs.
Feel like I jinxed the cavs in the Poodcast.
Kind of a weird lineup in for the Cavs at the end there.
Can’t wait to see how they come out against LA in a prime time game… should be very interesting.
Well to be honest the Hill miracle shot buried the Cavs. Can’t win them all. Let’s hope they can build a new win streak and get a hold of the second seed.
As did the defense giving up 36 points in the fourth quarter… They played solid D for the first three, but gave up points (some lucky for sure) when it mattered.
CJ killed em. Don’t know whose responsibility it was but he killed the cavs. That and the crap four point play.
As did LBJ iso and 7 TO and Love…..
Yeah. LeBron stopped trusting his teammates and Love stopped trusting himself.
I agree HoopsDogg…. didn’t get Love going early and often down low, only 18 assist on 40 FGs.
He really did and it was ridiculous to Not trust Kyrie. C’mon And JR got hot at the very end.
Maybe the Cavs were tired because of the back to back and that was why they settled for too many jump shots and gave that many points late.
Maybe…..
I agree… should’ve given Shump, Delly, and Matrix some more run perhaps… give Irving and LBJ some extra time to rest.
Exactly. And Should have gotten more out of Love too IMO.
Agree JB225… gotta get him going early and often down low.
Man, you just gotta love the fight in JR…
That will really help come playoff time.
HAHAHA.. read my mind JB225!
He’s going to be important come playoff time.
CJ got hot nothing you can do.
OK J.R. two more 3’s.
I wish teams weren’t allowed to call consecutive time outs like that.
Blatt’s fault. Right George?
JR trying to keep it close…
Or trying to get Chalupas for Indy fans.
He’s had a good shooting night I believe.
CJ with a sweet revenge game. Losing him on defense was a big reason for the loss.
Indeed… he’s their only outside shooter I’m pretty sure.
He will only be good for 30 games anyways because he is injury prone.
Lazy pass off by LeBron, then offensive rebound on a missed FT. Bad game.
I get so frustrated watching so many winnable games so far this season where the Cavs end up losing because a first year coach who has not a clue to what it takes to win on a nightly basis(even though the Cavs somehow overcome this bum”s poor coaching skills)
Then DON’T WATCH THE GAMES George… Blatt is not the issue… You are the ONLY ONE who thinks so…
Okay, we’re just feeding the troll now.
Nobody likes to see the Cavs lose winnable games George, but if you ascribe blame to the wrong things you will experience a lot of unnecessary frustration in your life.
Really didn’t see too many errors on his part. Players were flat.
Ok, now they’re dead.
Bad, bad basketball tonight.
More Cavs not executing offense and playing lazy D.
Good coaching test for the Cavs here.
Cavs have 2 more timeouts after this one. Not dead yet.
This is what happens when you have a coach that has no clue leave his starting line-up off the floor for too long…why is it that Indiana had their starting five on the floor at the most crucial time of the game and the Cavs didn’t???Idiot Blatt…thats why!!!!
Hey George… how about go troll somewhere else?
Pretty sure it was that starting line up that was getting its ass handed to it by a proud mentally tough team. You’re just a troll if you want to blame Blatt. Cavs have 5 fast break points to Pacers 15. FIVE. that’s a direct result of lazy defense.
Cause Blatt’s the one not running plays and taking dopey pullups.
Nothing to do with the coach. We just settled for longer jumpers the entire 4th quarter. No reason to complain about Blatt.
They did just destroy the Clips. It’s an 82 game season. Teams have off nights, and the Pacers are working hard. That’s not on the coach.
So Blatt is responsible for all Cavs losses, but he is not responsible, in any way, for the wins? Got it. Makes sense.
Cavs given up 30 points already in the fourth quarter… Missed shots or not, you’re not going to win without the D in the fourth quarter…
Unless, of course, you take care of business in quarters 1-3.
Can’t win ’em all. Some nights you don’t have it. 12-1 is still good.
I really hate loosing to this scrubs…. Of all teams it had to be to this douches.
Where was the loose ball?
A loss to a scrub team is a good thing. Need a little reality check here. Can’t shoot jumpers and take the easy road just because it’s a close game.
It’s not a good thing because they should already know that. how may reality checks have they had this year? At a certain point, you have to stop falling into the same trap and patting yourself on the back.
They just want it more than the Cavs tonight…
That’s why you go for two’s instead of hero three’s with that much time. you only give yourself one chance.
Wow. Trap game after all …
It had the makings from the get go. Bad defensive energy and lazy offense. It sucks because they’ve had to learn this over and over this year, but you can’t just show up and shoot your way through teams. You have to play hard every night.
They call that weak offensive foul on Mozzy earlier and the Hibbert body checks Irving and a foul on Irving.