Cleveland, Ohio – There are many reasons why the Cavs collapsed in the semi -finals of the Eastern Conference against the Indiana Pacers.
I do not blame fans not to want to plead all these at the moment – and there is a lot of time in the offseason for these global conversations on the fact that Cleveland is intimidated eliminatory series for a third consecutive year.
Instead, puts me in the man with a more micro-ordered discussion on their 114-105 defeat for match 5 against the Indiana Pacers which are attached to the macro.
Because yes, the Cavs let this game escape because of a few familiar trends.
It happened in the third quarter, when they were upgraded 33-20 after the break.
The Pacers were hot, hitting 14 of the 22 shooting attempts, determined to close this series in Cleveland.
But in my eyes, the Cavs helped them to warm up while walking away from what worked: trying to bring the ball to their big and enter the painting.
At the start of the game, the Cavs dominated in the painting-in the first half, they outstripped the pacers 34-14 inside.
Jarrett Allen, after being practically invisible in match 4, was a factor marking the first points in the first half of 4 of the 5 shots. Evan Mobley also had 14 points.
In the third quarter, however, the Pacers were equal.
They are the ones to attack the edge as their season was at stake. They outstripped the Cavs 18-8 in the painting for the period, because Cleveland pulled only 4 out of 12 from the interior.
Allen scored no point in the third and tried only one blow. Mobley struck two shots in total, including a 3.
The Cavs lacked on the rim, so they started to erase more than 3 as a group, going 3 out of 10. During this time, Indiana collapsed.
The race was part of a disturbing trend for the offense of this series.
It seemed that the Cavs were never confident enough to attack. Never sure the plans they took in a group. Consequently, they facilitated the defense of the Pacers – rapid defensive possessions, getting back and the attack was the perfect recipe for Indy for most of the series, including Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Pacers were ready to opt for the jugular.
The CAVS began the fourth quarter on an explosive race 5-0, to their credit. They even reduced Indy’s advance to 1 to several points.
But to the point of this greater trend: after arriving at less than 1 the first time on a Lay-Up from Garland, Tyrese Haliburton went on the track for an explosive dunk to recover the head up to 3, never shaken. With 5:03 to play, Donovan Mitchell struck a 3 of the right wing to reduce Indiana’s advance to 1. Andrew Nembhard responded to the following possession with a 3 of his own for pacers thanks to an offensive rebound from Myles Turner, again imperturbable.
With 1:27 to play, Mitchell cut the pacers at 3 with a 3 on the left base line. Nembhard once again had the answer with a lay-up and a frank throw to put the advance to six with 55 seconds to play.
He talks about many larger themes in this series.
No, Tuesday, they were not completely upset as Sunday evening in Indy in match 4. Cleveland at least displayed a little fight, but it was too late.
In the end, the Pacers were the real intimidators.
