Playoff Live Thread: Cavs vs. Pacers, Game 2 (#Whatever…)
2018-04-18
Well, Game 1 is in the rear view… and the hope is for Game 2 that the Cavaliers aren’t too complacent to read past the first word of this year’s team playoff slogan. It certainly seemed like it in their sleepy, sloppy dud of an opener to the post-season. Actually, I have no room to talk, since I missed the game entirely due to some work and family commitments… but the high low lights were painful enough to glance through. If you want a salient and informative breakdown of some of the finer points, make sure you check out David’s Woodshop article if you haven’t yet.
LeBron has been on the record many times about how playoff seeding isn’t important to him, and now the Cavs find themselves essentially in the five seed after losing home court advantage in the series to the Pacers. Whatever you feel like blaming the loss on… be it LeBron’s early passivity, his newer teammates inexperience or inability to gel under the bright lights of the playoffs, Kevin Love either not getting enough shots or not demanding the ball in the post more, poor defensive rotations, awful coaching, general make or miss league variance or even Victor Oladipo’s revenge for Dan Gilbert taking veiled shots at him over the summer… it’s one game, and it’s over. That said, there’s probably never been a second game of the first round more important to win than tonight’s game.
Ty Lue has been teasing changes to his starting lineup since about five minutes after he walked off the court on Sunday… but still no definitive word yet (and now it’s official).
#Cavs starting LeBron, Love, Hill, Smith and Korver.#Pacers
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) April 18, 2018
We do know that George Hill is a bit banged up after that hard screen, and that Rodney Hood was excused from practice earlier in the day… here’s why…
Looks like Rodney Hood welcomed twins into the world this morning. https://t.co/VgX2Y3oPsq
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 18, 2018
All that really matters though is that LeBron comes out aggressively, Kevin Love demands the ball in the post, the Cavaliers’ sharpshooters actually make some shots, and the Cavs play with more intensity and physicality on defense… y’know, like a team that actually does whatever it takes to win… rather than just whatever.
My predictions haven’t been great lately, so I’m just going to say the Cavs should and will win this game, although it won’t be easy, and it will take a better triple double from LeBron than Sunday’s triple double.
Catch all the action starting at 7pm EST on TNT… and as always, chime in here with your thoughts along the way.
GO CAVS!
Hill has looked so passive makes me wonder if he wants to be on the team
Indy was the only east PO team we were under .500 against. Dipo is the best drive & shoot dual threat guard outside of Curry & Harden. Collison led the friggin league in 3PT% and assist/TO ratio. Bogdanovic is 40% from deep. Young & Turner are long & athletic bigs. Turner has range. Cory Joseph, Sabonis, and Lance give them a real solid 8. Booker gives them some toughness. No real weaknesses other than lacking a secondary star. Everyone has a role & fits well. They are well coached on both sides of the ball. You have to beat them.… Read more »
We don’t have the size/strength to punish them inside & on the boards.
You mean besides LeBron, Lillard, Mitchell, George, Holiday, Kawhi, Durant, Curry, and Harden?
Honestly I just think Indiana is good. They could take Toronto, Boston, or Philly.
Agreed. I think us, Philly, & Indy are thr top 3 teams. Toronto is darned good against everyone except us.
If Boston had Kyrie & Hayward healthy they would be a monster. Too bad we didn’t get Rozier in the Kyrie trade.
League MVP Harden goes 2-18 and scores 12 points and his team beat a playoff team by 20.
Talk about indispensible
That game was brutal. T-Pups were awful after a pretty good first game. I wish Denver would have gotten in.
CP3 is still awesome.
This was a tough win to be encouraged by considering the output of energy and the Oladipo fouls that went our way. I’m not convinced George Hill makes that much difference right now so him and Jose being in foul trouble doesn’t cancel that out either. I guess I’m wondering if Indiana is a bad matchup for us or just better than their record.
McMillan really game planned well for us. Also they are a high energy hungry team that has a pretty good defense and and great scheme against us. So not a great matchup in my opinion.
Tough to replicate Rose’s performance I guess
Plus/minus for the game: Hill +16, Korver +15, JR +8, Bron +7, Love +4, Hood +1, Clarkson & Green -7, Jose & LNJ +11.
Reggie pointing out Harden travels on that step back.
Oops, -11 for Jose & Nance.
jr net neutral again tonight. some good plays, some bonehead plays. same feeling about klove
korver net positive
hill hood clarkson green dumpsterfire.gif
Jr was a sucker tonight besides for a couple min , the guy can’t stay in front of his man for a second
Disagree… he played inspired D in the first and fourth quarters… plus he had that great ISO steal and run out on Dipo….
Yeah he was very good on d for much of the night.
What did JR do to you?
When love isn’t hitting his shots he’s a big minus on the floor , he gives us no defense in the paint whatsoever if we aren’t getting the big advantage of him at center by hitting 3s….
Well we’re pretty much getting that every night if that’s the only thing he’ll get utilized for.
Our coach is Ty Lue man!
I thought Love was pretty good defensively, especially in the first half.
After the ankle tweak he was less effective on both ends. Still, he gave us enough on a poor 2nd half: 15/8.
Trouble is, TT does not protect the paint either, gives us no defensive rebounding, and the other team does not have to guard him.
Nance is better on O and the defensive boards, but not near Love’s level. LNJ is the best 4/5 defender we have.
At least Love at the 5 gets Turner away from the rim.
TT didn’t play at all, right? That’s kind of amazing.
Yup and by far the Best coaching decision this season
Is he injured or what?
Just plain bad. And thankfully Lue seems to know that.
Utah is a bad city… looks like they will win….
also rodney hood had almost as many babies as he had points smh
Need some other people to step up here. Too much dead money on this team
Whoah, Adams fouls out…
Sitting Crowder for Ingles seems like wise policy, playoffs or not…
I am a firm believer that knocking guys on their @sses a couple times can act as a strongh deterrent to attacking the rack.
No Golden Turd call for Harden
we won, but why i feel so down.. i truly do not believe this team can do much damage this playoff season. i just don’t see it. but i will watch every game
Lue is very curt and confident tonight
Ty sticking with this starting lineup.
CP3 is such a dirty player.
Good news on Kev.
Ty says he is fine.
Update by Coach Lue – Kevin Lue is good, ready to go for Game 3
Cavs need to foul Oladipo hard to basket….Pacers have done it 3-4x with Lebron and already won a game and nearly another…shit just have Zicic do it or TT….make him think twice about driving and get in his head….Pacers are well coached and play pretty smart….they rebound the hell out of the ball too…Cavs definitely have to come out hot on Friday…not sure this team can survive another Game 3 like last year.
If LBJ gets horse collared again, a visit from Perkins to Olidipo is in order.
Lue says Love is fine. Hope he’s right. Might be a stubbed finger, those suck, but not hi shooting hand…
Great news!
I always find the Houston court difficult to look at. Not sure if grey vs black helps or makes it worse
I want to believe we have a legit chance to win the chip, but the fact we need 46 from LeBron to barely escape going down 2 -0 in the first round, isn’t making me feel very good. I got a feeling we’re going to get some bad news about KLove’s hand too. Time to start Cedi!!
I agree.
Yes!!
Honestly it feels like Indiana will/would be our toughest challenge until the finals
Other than Philly, I agree.
Yeah, crazy stat in the espn piece on Embiid today. Philly starters with Embiid have the highest plus minus of any 5 man lineup in the league this year, including GS. Higher than the warriors last year. Out scoring teams around 21.4 points per 100 possessions. That is scary.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23218733/philadelphia-sixers-star-joel-embiid-even-better-nba-player-people-think
I think the Raptors could be equally challenging. I don’t think the Cavs have played their best game yet.
Hill was in foul trouble, I get that, but he needs to look to score 12-16 points…
Yeah I think he and other guys need to step up. Would be nice if Lue ran some stuff to get people open when LBJ sits.
Hill, Clarkson, Hood all not giving enough.
Cavs are due for a 20 point Hood game…
Pacers shot 52% (a terrible defensive number) and roasted us in the paint like we were a pig on a spit over a fire. However, the cavs did well contesting threes tonight. Indiana shot 28% from 3 mostly due to the defense I think. We can’t score much against them. I don’t expect that to change, as I think Indy will be hyper energized and focused in Indiana. Going to be tough to pull this out with or without love. Olidipo being out really really helped us. This is a win and that is good, but how this game makes… Read more »
Out in foul trouble I should clarify
If I was a Pacers fan I would be excited, it took 46 pts from Bron to beat them. Ty Lue has to find a way to run better plays for Hood, Hill, Jr and others so that they can contribute more. It’s only the first round and Bron has to play in finals mode to get a W against Indy? That’s definitely not good.
Yeah pretty much my thoughts. Maybe they add some wrinkles and plays between now and game three. Horns rub that obliterated Toronto did come out of nowhere in 2016. Or maybe they had it and hadn’t shown it. Still maybe they have something they were saving for later rounds. If they do, they need to use it.
Can’t catch a break ugh…
You do not ice a break.
Not that encouraging….team has too many flaws and not enough guys to make the plays in playoffs…Pacers are that dicey team that is doing anything and everything….Cavs really don’t and its fortunate Oladipo clanked two wide open 3s….Friday will be interesting for sure….be total Cavs 2018 if they come out like gangbusters and crush it haha GO CAVS!!
Maybe I’m being too optimistic, but I still think this team has an extra gear or two. Part of our limitations are Lue’s coaching/rotations and I think the younger guys are struggling a lot and don’t know their roles. Hill, JR, Clarkson, Nance can all play better. Cedi should get Hood’s minutes.
Coaching limitations are pretty big obstacles to overcome.
Yep, no matter how much potential the team has.
Totally agree… feels like this team hasn’t been unleashed yet.
I disagree about Cedi getting Hood’s minutes.. those minutes need come from Green and Clarkson if they’re not hitting shots.
James cannot possibly provide this much every game and expect a long playoff run. He will be worn out in the second round
Or by game four of this round.
Well…
– LBJ is good at basketball
– Unleashing La Flama Blanca is smart
– Nance has earned some more PT
– We could have used Cedi
– Let’s hope Lue doesn’t learn the wrong lessons from this game***
– That postgame question to LBJ about Pop seemed like an unfair thing to ask someone right after a basketball game to watch them process it on live TV
What was the question? .
I just wanted to add my own hot take as a random commentor on an internet blog…there isn’t enough of those online yet.
Tell me we’re getting a pod tomorrow?
Man LBJ about to cry about Pop… this is emotional.
Why would she ask him about Pop’s wife? That’s a terrible way to find out…
That seemed a bit strange.
That seemed like a really unprofessional thing to do. LeBron is a class act so he pulled it off. Still…right after a game and getting news and being forced to say something on national tv?
Really thought LBJ was going to no comment…. and it would’ve been totally appropriate.
Dude Allie laforce WTH? Why deliver that news live?
Any news on love?
Hey LBJ only played 40 minutes!!!
So… anyone thinks we can win it all?
I never thought that. Warriors stomp smash everyone.
yeah, I’m uber competitive, but I’m also realistic. We get beat by anyone in the west right now.
I might take our chances if KLove is fully healthy after this, but if he goes down.. Gilbert and company will be sleepless this summer.
Unfortunately no. I don’t think we’ll get by Indy.
I don’t think they can beat the Warriors or Rockets…we’ll see about Pacers…
Yes. Obviously.
We have LeBron James. And Indy will give us our toughest matchup before the Finals.
I don’t like finishing second anymore JKMP. We’ve lost enough finals in my book. It’s title or not go there at all for me.
I can appreciate that. We do have a shot at the title, def.
The Warriors aren’t the same as the past few years and the Rockets are prone to being choke artists.
Plus, these next few series will force us to mesh better and hopefully play better tomorrow.
And if we don’t get to the Finals, there is a higher likelihood LBJ leaves.
Lastly, after years of terrible Browns teams and the Cavs teams in the in-between-LeBron era…I think it’s important to appreciate how lucky we are right now. Going to Finals after Finals? I take it.
Not sure about the warriors. They have looked pretty good. Curry isn’t even back yet. Think they roll over everyone including Houston.
I agree with John, the Warriors will repeat and they will destroy everyone pretty easily. Maybe the Rockets could win one game but I bet the Warriors are looking forward to show them who’s boss.
You have points. But I think it doesn’t matter if we go to the finals and lose that it will guarantee Lebron re-signing. Only a ring now could do that, unlikely atm.
3 things need to happen
1. Coaching
2. Certified Wing scorer
3. Defensive center
those are the main objective this summer and we need to act fast. I highly believe Lebron wants to finish his career here if odds at a title are great. Looks better on his resume if he wins another championship here because it weighs more compared than anywhere..
No. Unless COS or Harden get hurt AND GSW lose Curry or Durant PLUS one more all star.
CP3. Dang small phone.
Winning this is going to be a daunting prospect based off tonight and yesterday, with or without Love.
Yep. I would take a split if offered.
why did green not pass the ball into lebron…after he’s made 4 free throws in a row…
Lebron looks exhausted
Well he did score half his team’s points…
Well at least we won. Hope Love is able to play on Friday!
A win that sort of feels like a loss if Kev is out going forward…
looking forward to the Cedi podium game though…
It is.
Hope Bron can carry us while Kev is out.
IF he is out, does Lue start TT or Nance?
so…why did we have to unload channing frye again? was it salary?
Had to send some salary out. Clarkson + Nance make 13.5 million. Plus LA wanted expiring salary. IT + Frye = around 14 million.
Cavs win, harder than it needed to be…
McNuggets…
Lol. Collison with a blatant uncalled double dribble.
haha…this is my least favorite thing in sports. the endless commercial breaks at the end of a basketball game.
Bron is making a grimmace face. Hope that is not serious.
Hopefully we get some practice in.
LeBron has monster game, we still don’t crack 100.
Is this just an old school eastern conference beat ‘em up?
Mike Brown is smiling somewhere
Note: second game under 100 points.
I stand corrected