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Key: Turn the Tide
OK, so that didn’t go the way it was supposed to.
For the first time in the LeBron James Era, the Cavaliers dropped Game 1 of the First Round, falling to an aggressive Pacers squad on Sunday afternoon.
Indiana took it to the Wine & Gold right from the opening tip and won for the fourth time in five meetings this season, stealing home court advantage and putting Cleveland in a must-win situation on Wednesday night at The Q.
The Cavaliers actually outscored Indy over the final three periods, but the Pacers jumped out to a 21-point first-quarter edge that proved to be too much to overcome.
Coach Tyronn Lue has been tight-lipped about any possible lineup changes, but the squad has had a fluid rotation all season long – and for the first time, everyone is healthy and ready to go. But on Wednesday night, Cleveland will need to figure out a way to get Jeff Green going, get Kevin Love more than eight shot attempts and get Kyle Korver more than four minutes of action.
If ever a Playoff tagline was appropriate, it’s in the early-going of the First Round: the Cavs will have to do whatever it takes to get a Game 2 win before the series shifts to Indy for the weekend.
Key: Flying V
The Cavaliers definitely have some work to do on the offensive end in Game 2, but defensively they’ll need to start with trying to slow down Victor Oladipo – who dictated the pace early, netting 11 of his game-high 32 points in the first quarter, going 3-of-4 from deep and barely slowing down from there.
In fact, he was just as unstoppable in the final period, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long-range to snuff out any Cavaliers’ rally attempts.
Oladipo was a tough cover for the Cavaliers all season – averaging 25.0 points on 44 percent shooting in four contests – and he came out ready to rumble on Sunday afternoon.
Tyronn Lue opened with Rodney Hood in Game 2, but he seemed tentative, taking just eight shots in 20 minutes.
JR Smith came off the bench and found his rhythm in the third quarter, netting nine of his 15 points in the period, going 3-for-4 from three-point range.
Kyle Korver was on a minutes-restriction on Sunday with a sore foot, but he said after Tuesday’s practice that he’ll be good to go on Wednesday after being limited to less than four minutes of work in Game 1.
Key: Comeback King
If it’s possible to have a quiet triple-double, LeBron James had one on Sunday afternoon.
In notching the 20th triple-double of his future Hall of Fame career, James finished with 24 points, going 7-of-17 from the floor and 10-for-14 from the stripe, but taking the collar in four three-point attempts. LeBron led both teams with 12 assists and pulled down 10 boards, adding a steal and an assist.
But James attempted just three shots, missing all three, in what proved to be a decisive first quarter and missed three free throws as the Cavs tried coming back in the second – dropping Game 1 of a First Round series for the first time in his career.
Both teams are vastly different from last year’s postseason meeting, but LeBron is still LeBron – and he’s still the same guy who averaged 32.8 points, 9.8 boards, 9.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per contest in last season’s First Round sweep.
Odds are he’ll try to set the tone early on in Wednesday night’s Game 2.
Key: Chairman of the Boards
Kevin Love was fantastic on the glass in Sunday afternoon’s loss – leading both squads with 17 boards -- but he attempted just eight shots and one free throw, going 3-of-6 from long-range to finish with nine points.
Love has rebounded well against the Pacers all season long – doubling-up in three of the meetings. But Indiana’s been pretty good defensively against the five-time All-Star, limiting him to just eight shots in their final regular season meeting on January 26 and held him below 40 percent shooting in the first two meetings of the season.
The Pacers have the frontline versatility to flummox Love and that was the case on Sunday. Young was solid on the defensive end, but was quiet offensively.
Myles Turner was good on both ends – finishing with 16 points, eight boards and a block – going 6-for-9 from the floor, including his three-pointer seconds before half to punctuate the Pacers’ dominant first half.
Key: Reserve Judgment
One thing the Cavaliers don’t want to see is an animated Lance Stephenson. When he’s up and aggressive, that usually means good things for the Pacers – and the wily reserve was very good on Sunday, coming off the bench to net a dozen points while playing solid defense against his perennial nemesis, LeBron James.
Normally, Domantas Sabonis is the Pacers’ top-scoring reserve, but the impressive sophomore found himself in foul trouble early and was relatively ineffective in Game 1 – finishing with fewer points and rebounds (4) than personal fouls (5).
The Cavaliers got very good production from JR Smith with the second unit and Larry Nance Jr. provided a solid first half boost and finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting, adding five boards and pair of steals.
Jordan Clarkson, who finished the regular season as the second-best bench scorer in the league, looked gun-shy in his first career Playoff appearance – finishing with six points on 2-for-6 shooting in 20 quiet minutes off the bench.
Kyle Korver was scoreless in three shot attempts, all in the first half.