I don’t want to look too far into the future, but I sure do hope the Cleveland Cavaliers can lock up a top four spot in the playoffs by the time they roll around in a handful of months. Otherwise, I don’t think the Cavs will be able to make it out of the first round. After falling to the Indiana Pacers last night 135-126, in Indianapolis, the Cavaliers’ record dropped to 22-14, and an abysmal 6-10 away from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where they’ve continually had issues.
Pacer guard Tyrese Haliburton led all scorers with 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including a scorching 6-of-8 from deep. Former Oklahoma Sooner Buddy Hield had himself a night as well, putting up 25 points, and hitting 5-of-6 from deep. Defending the three-pointer was really the downfall for the Cavs last night, who only have a half-game lead on the Philadelphia 76ers for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Donovan Mitchell once again led the Cavs in scoring with 28. He wasn’t nearly as efficient as Hield or Haliburton, shooting 10-of-25 from the field, while also picking up six assists and two steals. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen both had 18 and 19 points respectively, and Caris LeVert had 19 points off the bench. Additionally, Kevin Love was a bright spot for the Wine and Gold, as he had 12 points and six rebounds in his 21 minutes off the bench, and connected on two shots from deep.
So with that said, let’s examine one stud, but then two duds for Cleveland from the game.