The Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers were upset by the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their best-of-seven second-round series on Sunday.
Playing without All-Star guard Darius Garland, who is out with a toe injury, the Cavs fell behind early to the Pacers and saw their comeback bid thwarted in the fourth quarter by Tyrese Haliburton and company.
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Although Indy is only up 1-0, ESPN’s Jay Williams says that he is very much worried about the Cavs right now.
“I am extremely concerned about the Cavs,” said Williams. “Number one, Garland and that situation. And number two, defensively, you talk about one of the best teams in the league, they just looked uninterested in this game. For 19 threes that they made on 54 percent shooting, with all the narratives that have been looming around Cleveland throughout the entire year, I better see a different Cleveland team in Game 2.”
The Pacers shot the lights out in Game 1
At No.8 overall, the Cavaliers were one of the best defensive teams in the league during the regular season, with a rating of 111.8 points per 100 possessions. Cleveland also put on a defensive show in the first round, holding the Miami Heat to just 95.5 points per 100 possessions.
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However, not only did they allow the Pacers to score 121 points on them, but Indiana also shot a very high 53.0 percent from the field and a ridiculous 52.8 percent from 3-point distance. That lack of defensive effort, coupled with the absence of Garland, made it hard for them to overcome Indy despite Donovan Mitchell scoring 33 points.
“I know they had a good layoff. And sometimes, that layoff can disrupt your rhythm and how you prepare for that game. But still, that’s no excuse. I saw a lazy defense. Donovan Mitchell. I think he is a superstar in this league. 33 points of 30 shots. You had two players take 50 out of their 98 shots, and the second player was Ty Jerome…That was one of the most disappointing efforts I’ve seen in a Game 1,” added Williams.
Not the series for Jerome
With Garland out, Sam Merrill and Max Strus started in the Cleveland backcourt, and they combined to score only 13 points on 4-14 shooting. Meanwhile, the 6’5″ Ty Jerome came off the bench to score 21 points on 8-20 shooting in just 29 minutes of playing time. While his output was a welcome addition for the Cavs, Kendrick Perkins said it’s not where the points should come from.
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“Kenny Atkinson was hired because he said one thing in that meeting that caught the front office’s attention; that he was going to unlock a different version of Evan Mobley. Well, this is the series to do it. Evan Mobley is the X-Factor. He played good basketball on both ends of the floor tonight. But 13 shot attempts with no Darius Garland? This is not the series for Ty Jerome. This is the series for Evan Mobley,” said Perkins.
Evan Mobley, the recently announced winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. However, he took seven fewer shots than Jerome, which shouldn’t have been the case. Mobley is the second-best player on the team and should assert himself as such. If Evan can do that in Game 2, the Cavs should be in a better spot.