The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing a rough reality heading into their Game 5 second-round NBA playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ season is hanging in the balance, as they are down 3-1 in their second-round NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers with Game 5 on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers won 64 games during the regular season and were a dominant force throughout most of the way, but they have certainly met their match with the Pacers.
Can Cleveland rally and win three straight to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals? Or are the Cavs destined for another second-round exit?
It’s going to be tough for the Cavaliers to make a comeback here, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst notes that Cleveland can look back to its blown lead in Game 2 as the reason for its precarious predicament.
“Even with all those injuries that they’ve had, if they handled their business in Game 2, it’s still a three-game series where the Cavs have homecourt,” Windhorst said.
“So, you can analyze Game 4 as long as you want. You can spend the next 12 hours or however long until game time doing it. That’s not the reason that they’re in big trouble. They’re in big trouble because of what they let go through their hands in Game 2.”
.@WindhorstESPN says that the game 2 collapse is what’s really haunting the Cavs in this series…
“They’re in big trouble because of what they let go through their hands in game 2 and you can’t kick games in playoff series”
Windhorst noted that all three of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have dealt with injuries this series, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that the Cavs dropped the first two games of the matchup on their home floor.
Game 2 was particularly devastating, as the Cavaliers built a 20-point lead in the third quarter only to see it slip away.
Now, Cleveland will have to fight for its playoff life on Tuesday evening to ensure that its magical 2024-25 campaign does not go to waste.
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