King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: Keys to victory over Indiana Pacers

By Dan Gilinsky

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Lance Stephenson #1 of the Indiana Pacers during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on January 26, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Lance Stephenson #1 of the Indiana Pacers during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on January 26, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

Ahhhhhh, it’s finally that time of year. The Cleveland Cavaliers begin their second season (playoff SZN) on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers for the second consecutive year.

This should be a fun series to watch. The Cavaliers have had a roller coaster of a season and have settled into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James is on Cleveland, and that’s all good and dandy.

Their opponent, the Indiana Pacers, have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this year as they’ve gotten an All-NBA season from Paul George trade piece Victor Oladipo; he’s got to be the frontrunner for the NBA Most-Improved Player Award.

He’s been sensational on both ends of the floor and this year, the Pacers took an impressive three out of four games against the Cavs in the regular season.

Nonetheless, Cleveland was in a different place in those contests. All four of the games featured that older mess of a Cleveland roster and this more athletic Cavaliers’ team now matches up better with Indiana.

In those previous meetings, the Cavs did not get enough production outside of LeBron and they could not contain Oladipo at all.

Against Cleveland this season, he has averaged 25.0 points, 5.0 assists and has his most three-point makes per outing against any opponent, per nba.com. In clutch time, he crushed J.R. Smith and the Cavs, and Indiana was able to take advantage of the slower Cavaliers in transition after live-ball turnovers.

With the trade deadline re-wiring of the roster, Cleveland has shown signs of being able to defend at the point of attack better. Their improved athleticism has shown in their transition defense. Against the old-school Pacers’ offensive philosophy, Cleveland will need to show hard in the mid-range area, and not concede open looks off-the-bounce from Oladipo, Corey Joseph and others.