Everything You Need to Know About Cavs' 1st-Round Matchup vs. Indiana Pacers
In a 4-5 matchup no one would have predicted at the start of the year, the Cleveland Cavaliers (50-32) will host the Indiana Pacers (48-34) in the opening round for the second straight postseason.
Cleveland enters in a bit of an awkward teenage phase, still not knowing who it is and who it has the potential to become following a midseason roster shakeup. The Pacers were one of the biggest surprises of the season, jumping from 42 to 48 wins after trading face of the franchise Paul George last summer.
The Cavs will once again be led by some guy named LeBron James, who is apparently pretty good in these playoff things. For Indiana, Victor Oladipo looks to ride his All-Star season to an upset over what appears to be the most vulnerable Cavaliers squad in years.
When Do We Start?
Round 2 of Cavs-Pacers kicks off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET in Cleveland for the best-of-seven series. The complete list of games goes as follows:
- Game 1 in Cleveland: Sunday, April 15, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 2 in Cleveland: Wednesday, April 18, 7 p.m. ET, TNT
- Game 3 in Indianapolis: Friday, April 20, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Game 4 in Indianapolis: Sunday, April 22, 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
- Game 5 in Cleveland: (if necessary)
- Game 6 in Indianapolis: (if necessary)
- Game 7 in Cleveland: (if necessary)
How Did the Season Series Go?
Indiana dominated the regular season 3-1, although the two teams never met after Jan. 26. On that night, the Cavs played Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose and Channing Frye, all of whom (along with Dwyane Wade and Iman Shumpert) have since been traded away.
In terms of individual matchups, the Pacers should feel pretty good about the way their top players shredded the Cavaliers' awful defense.
Oladipo averaged 25.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and made 17 of his 36 three-pointers (47.2 percent) in the four games against Cleveland. Point guard Darren Collison dropped 18.0 points and 5.5 assists on a sizzling 68.3 percent shooting from the field and 75.0 percent from three.
Other notable contributors for Indiana included Thaddeus Young (15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds), Domantas Sabonis (13.3 points, 11.8 rebounds) and Myles Turner (15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in one game).
Although James struggled with his outside shot against Indiana (just 19.0 percent on 21 total attempts), he nearly triple-doubled with 28.8 points, 10.3 assists and 8.5 rebounds. His 6.8 turnovers were the second-most against any opponent (7.5 vs. Golden State Warriors) this season.
Kevin Love gave the Cavs 16.0 points and a strong 11.0 rebounds over the four games, while Jeff Green added 11.5 points on 62.1 percent shooting.
Of the Cavs' new additions, Jordan Clarkson had the most success against Indiana, dropping a season-high 33 points on 14-of-19 shooting in a Los Angeles Lakers 99-86 win on Jan. 19. He will be a key offensive piece in this series with no Kyrie Irving in Cleveland anymore.
What Will the Rotations Look Like?
Cavs Starters: PG George Hill, SG Rodney Hood, SF LeBron James, PF Jeff Green, C Kevin Love.
Reserves: G Jordan Clarkson, G Jose Calderon, G/F Kyle Korver, G/F JR Smith, C Larry Nance Jr.
Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue will use a 10-man rotation against Indiana and has already named Green as a starter and Calderon as a must play off the bench.
"You usually go nine," Lue said of playoff rotations, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I think we've been nine in the past, but I think it's going to be important to go 10 for us."
If these 10 hold true, it would mean no regular playing time for Tristan Thompson and Cedi Osman, who could still be plugged in for rebounding or defensive purposes.
Pacers Starters: PG Darren Collison, SG Victor Oladipo, SF Bojan Bogdanovic, PF Thaddeus Young, C Myles Turner.
Reserves: G Cory Joseph, G Lance Stephenson, F Glenn Robinson III, F/C Trevor Booker, F/C Domantas Sabonis.
Oladipo steals the headlines here, but the Pacers can run 10 deep in the postseason with ease if head coach Nate McMillan should choose.
Lance Stephenson will get a healthy dose of minutes off the bench, especially in matchups against James. The history between the two is well documented, dating back to James' time with the Miami Heat. The 14-time All-Star called Stephenson "a little dirty" after a scuffle in their Jan. 12 game. Stephenson is one of the only NBA players who can get into James' head, and he knows it.
How Will Each Team Attack?
It's no secret the Cavaliers have been a defensive abomination for most of the season.
Cleveland's 109.5 defensive rating only bested that of the Phoenix Suns and their NBA-worst 21-61 record. From February's trade deadline on, the Cavs were slightly better (108.9) and jumped 10 spots to 19th overall.
Lack of effort, poor communication and shuffling new players in and out of the rotation has plagued the Cavs all season. There remains quite a few ways to break down the Cavaliers' crumbling walls, with perhaps no better or easier method than effective dribble penetration. Get a high-caliber guard to get past the initial defender and watch Cleveland's second line get caught staring or overcompensate with help, leaving a shooter wide open on the perimeter.
No team was worse at guarding isolations this season. Opponents scored 1.01 points per possession against the Cavs on isolation plays while shooting 44.7 percent, per NBA.com. Both defensive totals ranked 30th overall.
The same could be said when teams ran the pick-and-roll. Roll men scored 58.1 percent of the time when attacking Cleveland's Charmin-esque interior, connecting on a 60.1 percent clip. Add in a 1.19 point-per-possession opponent success rate, and all three figures plummeted the Cavaliers to the bottom of the rankings. With no true rim protector and Love slated to start at center once again, the Pacers should be able to get into the paint and score at will.
There are few players who can somewhat effectively guard James one-on-one, and not one of them is employed by the Pacers.
Herein lies the problem for Indiana. With no good individual matchups (no, not even the 6'5" Stephenson), the Pacers will be forced to throw extra bodies at James to try to limit his drives and easy looks at the rim.
Turning James into a passer should be more than fine with the rest of the Cavs, who can place dead-eye shooters like Love (41.5 three-point percentage), Korver (43.6 percent) and Calderon (46.4 percent) around him. Cleveland is tied for third in catch-and-shoot three-point percentage (39.6) since the trade deadline.
James will get his numbers in the series, but limiting how much he can get others involved will be key for the Pacers' defense.
Prediction
Cleveland has yet to play a game with a healthy roster since making the deals for George Hill, Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood. We still have no idea how good this team will be. With no Irving to bail them out of late shot-clock situations, this will have to be more of a group effort around James.
Fortunately for the Cavaliers, James is coming off arguably his best statistical season at age 33 and has dominated the opening round like no one before him. When the Cavs win this series, James will move out of a tie with Shaquille O'Neal and into first place with a unprecedented 13-0 first-round record.
James hasn't lost a single game in the first round for six years and is a perfect 12-0 since returning to Cleveland in 2014.
Expect the streak to continue.
Cavs over Pacers 4-0.
Greg Swartz covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report. Stats provided by NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.
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