CLEVELAND — The first pressure point of the postseason is here for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It arrived perhaps sooner than anticipated, but there’s no time to worry about that now.
If the Cavs were trying to sit Darius Garland until they lost in an effort to give his painful toe injury more time to heal, it was a prudent strategy. But time is also up. The Cavs are in a 1-0 series hole they didn’t see coming after losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals 121-112 to the Indiana Pacers. The Cavs sure could use Garland back on the floor for Game 2.
The Pacers have played fast all season and this was no different. The 99.5 pace rating in Game 1 was higher than all but one of their games in the first-round series victory against the Milwaukee Bucks and faster than any game the Cavs played against the Miami Heat in their first-round series. But let’s not pretend like the Cavs aren’t accustomed to playing this way. They played 47 games during the regular season at an even faster pace and went 40-7.
At least one big difference in Game 1, however, was Garland’s absence. For all of the wonderful things that Ty Jerome has been this season, the one thing he is not is quick. Though he finished with 21 points and eight assists against the Pacers, he shot 8 of 20 and his lack of foot speed was exposed at times.
On a night the Cavs scored 70 points in the paint — and lost — Jerome hoisted the second-most shot attempts behind Donovan Mitchell. In a series like this, given the Pacers’ lack of size inside, the bulk of those shots have to go to Evan Mobley when Garland is absent. Mobley scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but took only 13 shots. He also turned it over four times.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team score 70 points in the paint and lose the game, which is a testament to the times we’re living in and the league’s reliance on the 3-point shot. The Pacers shot it incredibly well from deep in Game 1 and the Cavs did not. So here we are.
As for Garland, this is the healthiest season he has enjoyed as a pro. He played in a career-high 75 games this year, so the timing of this toe injury is awful. If this were still the regular season, we may not see Garland for another couple of weeks. But the Cavs, and Garland, no longer have that luxury. The Pacers have the advantage now in this series, and the defending champion Boston Celtics loom after them should they advance.
“I know he’s desperate to play,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said after the loss. “We need his speed and shot-making.”
The trickle-down effect from no Garland includes Mitchell recording his second-highest usage rate of the season. Jerome had only a handful of games with a higher usage rate.
Sam Merrill started, and Isaac Okoro played key fourth-quarter minutes because of no Garland. Merrill started in place of Garland against Miami and did just fine, but the Pacers play at a different level than the Heat. Indiana regularly picked up the Cavs’ guards full court defensively.
While panic will certainly ensue in the streets after losing home-court advantage, the odds of Mitchell shooting 1-for-11 from 3 again, or the Cavs shooting 24 percent from 3 for another game, seem remote. Similarly, the Pacers shot better from 3 in Game 1 (53 percent) than they did in all but three games during the regular season.
Give credit to the Pacers for coming into a loud, hostile environment and emphatically imposing their will on the Cavs. Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith were terrific from 3 in part because the Cavs did a lousy job of guarding the 3-point line. But Nembhard and Nesmith also made their share of difficult, contested shots. The Pacers played fast, made shots and earned a decisive victory.
The Cavs didn’t create the same number of quality looks they’re accustomed to seeing, instead reverting to a lot of isolation dribbling and contested jumpers rather than the drive/kick/swing offense that punished opponents all season long.
A lot of it can be traced back to Garland’s absence.
“I know it’s a tough one, especially being able to stop and start (on the toe),” Atkinson said. “But we don’t want him out there (at) 60 percent, 50 percent the way they pressure the ball. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Oh, there’s pressure all right. Sooner than anyone expected.
(Photo: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)
