King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers Sweep The Indiana Pacers As LeBron James Takes Over

By Quenton S. Albertie

Apr 23, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; After the game Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) hugs Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and Pacers forward Paul George (13) hugs Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) in game four of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cleveland defeats Indiana 106-102. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; After the game Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) hugs Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and Pacers forward Paul George (13) hugs Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) in game four of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cleveland defeats Indiana 106-102. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have swept the Indiana Pacers right out of the postseason.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers 106-102 in Game 4, effectively completing the sweep of their first round opponent and being the first team to finish win a series in the opening round.

Throughout the series, the Cavs showed their playoff grit is incomparable to the inconsistent toughness that they played with throughout the regular season. Against the Pacers in Game 4, and every other game in the series, the Cleveland Cavaliers never faltered when the game went down to the wire.

Led by LeBron James, who played sensationally on both ends of the court and looked as fresh as any player in the playoffs, the Cavs were able to slug it out with Paul George and company for 16 intense quarters of basketball.

George averaged 28.0 points, 8.0 and 7.3 assists per game for the Pacers. He made nearly every play for Indiana, especially down the stretch and played well on both ends of the court. Jeff Teague, Lance Stephenson and Thaddeus Young combined for 45.0 points per game, getting a lot of their shots in close to the basket.

James, who had the most points, assists, steals and blocks in the series also had the second-most rebounds. After hitting a three to put the Cavs up 103-102 with a little more than a minute left and a steal on the other end, he emerged victorious.

Shooting efficiently from everywhere except the charity stripe, watching James in this series has been like watching James do whatever he wanted in the 2015 NBA Finals. In this series though, James has had more help.

Not only has he had Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith launching threes by his side, combining for 12 treys in the four games, he’s has Channing Frye and Kevin Love stretching the floor from the inside-out, knocking in 16 threes for the series.

Averaging 25.4 points per game, Kyrie Irving proved himself to be a worthy second-in-command for the King for the second postseason in a row.

Deron Williams was efficient all season and was a part of a LeBron James-led second unit that completed the largest comeback in postseason history as the Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the Indiana Pacers by 26 at halftime during Game 3. He followed up that performance with 14 points in Game 4, going 4-4 from the field.

Tristan Thompson was moving around the court like he got some much needed rest after taking off three games at the end of the regular season before the beginning of the playoffs. He would finish the series with 11.0 rebounds per game for the series, and he had 7 offensive boards in Game 4.

Iman Shumpert and Richard Jefferson have formed some type of two-headed cobra on the Cleveland Cavaliers bench. Jefferson, the more savvy of the two played meaningful minutes in the first two games of the series while Shumpert, the better athlete and defender played a significant role in the last two games.

Tyronn Lue coached his tail off in this series. He put together a rock-solid defensive plan and drew up a number of plays in-game that were successful. He righted the ship in a crucial time for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the defending champions now seem like they’re in a zone. He’s earning his money in the playoffs, where the days off give him more time to prepare a defensive plan and give what’s an older team more time to rest.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers playing like this and Tyronn Lue coaching like this, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a sweep in the next round as the Cavs face the winner of the series between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks.

Like the Pacers, the Bucks lack a secondary playmaker that will make the Cleveland Cavaliers pay for doubling Giannis Antetokuonmpo. Unlike the Pacers, the Raptors’ best player isn’t blessed with the passing acumen to make the Cleveland Cavaliers pay for doubling him. Neither team has a player who can stop The King.

James averaged 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game on 54.3 percent shooting from the field and 45.0 percent from three-point range against Indiana. He also averaged 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

Cleveland, the playoffs are here.

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What did you think of the series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.