Cavs guard Darius Garland limped throughout the fourth quarter. Backcourt mate Donovan Mitchell wore a calf brace into his postgame interview. And center Evan Mobley told reporters Tuesday that somebody kneed his leg on Tuesday, which made it harder to move on his sprained ankle.
But none of them deserve a crutch.
Nope. The Cavs should leave this series, which ended with Tuesday’s 114-105 Game 5 loss to the Pacers, performing the Limp of Shame. No excuses, no blaming the injury bug. Four Cavs (including sharpshooter Sam Merrill, who missed Game 5 with a neck injury) battled injuries against Indiana, and they lost four times in five games. But I don’t believe these facts are intertwined. And it doesn’t sound like I’m alone.
“A good amount, but that’s just the playoffs,” Mobley said when asked how much injuries influenced the series. “Everyone gets hurt. You’ve just got to find a way to win. During games that you’re supposed to win, you’ve got to win. You go back to Game 2, you’re up 20, you gotta just finish games out. And the series just looks a lot different.”
How different would Cavs-Pacers have ended if Garland, Mitchell, Mobley and De’Andre Hunter had stayed healthy? Wrong question. The right ones: How different would this series be if Cleveland could protect a lead? Or if Mitchell’s teammates performed like co-stars? Or if the league’s deepest team didn’t get outmanned?
These are the bigger questions behind Cleveland’s playoff flameout, and none of the answers paint the Cavs favorably. As Mitchell said postgame, “Y’all are gonna write some s— about us.”
He’s right, but only because they earned it.
One flaw at a time: Injuries may have piled up against the Pacers, but so did Cleveland’s time spent winning. To be exact, the Cavs led for 119:48 of the 240 minutes they played in Round 2, or basically half the time. Reminder: They lost this series in five games.
Gets worse: Exclude Cleveland’s embarrassing Game 4 loss (which featured 0 Cavs winning time) from the record, and the Cavs led for about 120 of 192 minutes in Games 1, 2, 3, and 5 (over 60% of the time). They finished 1-3 in those matchups despite holding 19-point leads in three of them. And never forget how the Cavs blew a 7-point lead with 57 seconds to play in Game 2.
This series would still be alive if Max Strus could connect Ty Jerome on their inbounding turnover, or Jerome could box out Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton on Haliburton’s own missed free throw, or if somebody, anybody could’ve stopped Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith from dunking home another missed free throw.
We’re talking to the officials here, too. Nesmith entered the lane early. They reviewed it. No whistle.
Sorry, I’ll stop. Bad flashbacks.
Next big nitpick? Mitchell averaged 41.3 points per game during the first three games of this series. The Cavs played two of those three at home. But somehow, Cleveland fell behind 2-1 to begin this series.
Now here, you might interject: One of those losses came without Garland, another came without Garland, Hunter and Mobley. Doesn’t injury pass buy some sympathy here?
“…I’d just say we’re built deep, right?” Atkinson said before Game 5. “So if you get two guys out, three guys out, we kind of feel like we have the best six through 10 in the league. We have all year. So (if) that guy’s out, that guy’s, hobbled that’s part of it. It’s part of this deal. I think we have enough. Not going to use that.”
“…I’d just say we’re built deep, right?” Atkinson said before Game 5. “So if you get two guys out, three guys out, we kind of feel like we have the best six through 10 in the league. We have all year. So (if) that guy’s out, that guy’s, hobbled that’s part of it. It’s part of this deal. I think we have enough. Not going to use that.”
Cleveland’s second unit offered plenty during the regular season, when it ranked eighth in bench points per game and second in bench plus-minus. Hunter? Ty Jerome? Sam Merrill? Cleveland could bury defenses under their shooting. Isaac Okoro? Dean Wade? Good luck driving against either of them.
Playoff moments against the Pacers? Anyone? Buehler?
Look, Jerome finished his season admirably with an eight-point second half on Tuesday that followed his first-half DNP. And Hunter made timely shots on Tuesday night. But the Pacers’ bench outscored Cleveland’s 189-143 over five games. Jerome and Hunter each shot below 40% during this series. In games 2-5, Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin outscored them both by himself.
And Mathurin got ejected from Game 4 in the first quarter.
The theme in each flaw is a departure from self. Cleveland’s fourth-quarter net rating (+10 per 100 possessions) ranked first in the regular season. It ranks fifth (-6.5 per 100) of eight conference semifinalists. The Cavs’ awesome bench got beat by a better one. And after 82 games spent empowering teammates, Mitchell got stuck carrying them again in this series.
Hard to judge Garland during a series he couldn’t walk. And I can’t decide who to blame most for Mobley’s sporadic touches: Atkinson for not calling more plays? Mobley failing to call for the ball? The guards distrusting him? Plenty to go around.
But in these fatal flaws, I see a repetitive pattern. For the third straight year, the Cavs showed promise over 82 games. For the third straight year, they failed to reach their playoff potential. But for the first time during this cycle, fans won’t accept the easy explanation.
Against the Knicks, Cleveland pled Naivete (fine, first playoff run). Last year against Boston? No Mitchell, no Caris LeVert and no Jarrett Allen (who no-showed again during Tuesday’s second half). No proper way to appraise their performance (I guess).
No more.
Injuries stink and limping hurts, but neither explains why the Pacers upset Cleveland. To find that answer, the Cavs must let this exit leave a mark.
Kick the crutches, let wounds fester, examine them closely. Pain fosters toughness, and this team could use a dose.
Not just me talking.
“Mental fortitude,” Mobley said when asked about Cleveland’s next step. “Being strong in these big moments. Just individually, mentally having more preparation, being ready from the jump of this series. I feel like we didn’t start off the best Game 1, and from there … we got hurt, and things just went downhill. You’ve just gotta be more mentally ready from the jump.”
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