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The first round match-up between the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers has proved to be a great series thus far.
Three of the four games have been extremely close and, if not for a play here or there, could have gone the other way.
Game 4 was as good a treat as Game 3, as the Cavaliers made a couple of clutch shots in a close situation to ice the game.
Lance Stephenson and Jeff Green rolled around while jostling for the ball with 9.4 seconds remaining. The referees, instead of calling what should have been a double technical on Jeff Green, gave it to Cleveland, and that was that for the match, which became a two-possession game following the technical free throw.
1. Kevin Love had a substandard game
The Cavaliers were fortunate to come away with this game despite the decidedly inferior play of their all-star centre Kevin Love. The former Minnesota strongman just cannot seem to get the hang of pick-and-roll defence, and the Pacers have mercilessly exploited his defensive deficiencies over the course of this series.
In little under a couple of minutes of gameplay after tip-off, Love got himself sent to the bench with two quick fouls. Playing over 29 minutes for the game, Love managed just two of ten from the field, including zero for three from three-point territory.
While he did grab five offensive boards and 11 overall, he was worthless for the most part and finished with only five points in the game.
It has been four games running now that Love has shot below his usual excellent standards. The tough, in-the-face defence played by the Pacers has played its part, but Love has missed too many open shots for his own liking. The Cavs would be well-served by a Kevin Love playing at full capacity.
(EDrost88 / Flickr)
2. The Pacers continue their pattern of falling behind in the first half
In Game 2 the Pacers gave up a 16-1 lead to the Cavaliers from which they never really recovered. They did run the game close, but the Cavs did not relinquish the lead. They were behind by double-digit points in Game 3 as well, but this time their comeback culminated in a win.
Game 4 was very similar to the two previous games in this aspect, as the Pacers again ceded significant scoring ground to LeBron’s team. At the end of the first quarter the Cavs led 30-24. They increased this lead to 60-50 by halftime, but the Pacers mounted a spirited comeback and took their first lead after 3-2 early in the fourth quarter at 83-82.
Even though they lost the game eventually, it’s a recurring sign of the fight in this team’s heart.
3. The Pacers’ big men get the job done together
Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis had good nights on the offensive end. Turner got into foul trouble early in the game and finished only around 23 minutes, but overall he was slated for many more minutes as the starting centre.
Turner did a fine job of scoring the basketball. He hit seven of his nine field goal attempts, including three of four from downtown. The threes he shot were all of the rainbow variety, and he made two of them straight on and one of them from the left corner.
Sabonis was dominant on the boards and was overall a much better defender than Turner. He played over 25 minutes; he and Turner never shared the floor together. He hit nine of his 12 shot attempts, including a lone three-point attempt. He was dominant on the offensive glass as well, converting missed layups by Thaddeus Young into put-back shots.
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4. Victor Oladipo has his first average game of the series
Over the first three games of the series it could be argued that Victor Oladipo had been a more valuable player with his performances than LeBron James. He blew this lead in Game 4, however, and came up short on a night when the Pacers needed a breakout scorer.
Oladipo tried to force the issue on too many occasions while driving. He was also mostly off from three-point range on the night save for the amazing turnaround shot he made with less than ten seconds left to play in the game.
All in all Oladipo went five for 20 from the field and three of eight from three-point territory and got only five free throws to show for all the trouble he took to drive into the heart of Cleveland’s defence.
His 17-point, six-rebound, five-assist, three-steal performance was a rather average outing by his standards in this playoff series, and one would hope as a neutral that he shoots better percentages in the games to come.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
5. Role players complement LeBron for the first time this series
While it is a well-known fact that LeBron can abuse any defender on this planet to get whatever he wants in the form of buckets, what was being questioned coming into this series is the amount of help he’d get from his teammates.
For the first time in this series his supporting cast played up to its potential and gave adequate support to LeBron, who piled up much of the agony on the Pacers by himself with 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
His chief supporting star was Kyle Korver, who shot four of nine from three-point territory and made six of his seven free throws. While Korver was cold for most of the game, he hit two clutch three-pointers and some clutch free throws at the end of the game and was the difference between a Cavs loss and a win with all said and done.
The likes of Jordan Clarkson (5-9 from the field for 12 points), Larry Nance (six points), Jeff Green (eight points) and Rodney Hood (six points) were all instrumental in keeping the Cavs scorecard ticking.
JR Smith had a fantastic game on both ends of the floor, and he had the best highlight play of the game: a buzzer-beating 65-foot shot to signal halftime.
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