Cavs Loss to Pacers Understandable
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers last night to break their 12 game win streak. While many are not happy about the loss, for the Cavs it is understandable. We are not down on the Cavs one bit for this loss as there are multiple reasons why we are not surprised:
- The Cavs were coming off a physical (at least to start), nationally televised game the night prior.
While the Cavs just destroyed the Clippers, the emotional come down from the game was bound to impact the team. Hard to get up two nights straight, especially with travel in between. Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan tried to get physical with the Cavs down low and later many of them lost their cool, leading to 5 technical fouls. The Cavs traveled to Indy to play the Pacers after that kind of game.
- The Pacers are a very physical team.
With Roy Hibbert and David West down low and George Hill at the point the Cavs were dealing with some very physical players at multiple spots on the court. It seemed to tire the team out leading to poor ball and player movement on offense and slow rotations on defense. The Pacers wore down the Cavs late in the game when they finally took the lead for good.
- Everyone gets up to play the Cavs, watch the Cavs.
If you listened to the crowd last night it was obvious it was not just another game, it was THE game for them. While the Cavs were playing another game, the Pacers and their crowd had something to prove. They likely feel like they proved it last night.
- Paul George‘s possible return was inspiring.
Larry Bird and Frank Vogel talked about the possibility that George could return still this year. The possibility that their best player could return had to excite the team. If they can make the playoffs without him for most of the season, they believe they can make some noise once they get there. Players responded last night. They are only 3 games out of the 8th seed in the weak East.
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- Kevin Love struggles on the second night of back to back.
Last night was not Love’s night. He struggled with his shot, seemed slow in rotations and showed very little confidence. With a back that seems to be obviously bothering him, he was not the same last night. Having to play, and play well the night before, then travel over to Indianapolis can cause a lot of problems on a problem back. It did last night.
So while there are things that still need cleaned up, and Shawn Marion may be the biggest problem for the team, the Cavs are fine after a loss last night. It was very explainable, no excuses, and the Cavs will be alright.