Cavs at Pacers preview and gamethread
Cleveland keeps winning, but last game against Toronto could’ve been better
The Cavaliers have the opportunity to return the favor by snapping the Pacers’ six-game win streak.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (33-5) at Indiana Pacers (22-18)
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN
When: 7:00 p.m., Tuesday Jan. 14
TV: TNT / truTV / Max
Line: Cavaliers - 5.5
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen.
Cavs injury report: Ty Jerome - DOUBTFUL (illness), Emoni Bates - OUT (G League), JT Thor - OUT (G League), Luke Travers - OUT (G League)
Expected Pacers starting lineup: Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, Benedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Pacers injury report: Tyrese Haliburton - DOUBTBUL (hamstring), Aaron Nesmith - OUT (ankle), James Wiseman - OUT (Achilles tear), Isaiah Jackson - OUT (Achilles tear), Quenton Jackson - QUESTIONABLE (G League), Enrique Freeman - QUESTIONABLE (G League), Ray Dennis - OUT (G League)
What to watch for
Can the Cavaliers avoid back-to-back losses?
Do the dates Nov. 27 and 29 have significance to anyone reading this? This was the last time the Cavaliers lost back-to-back games this season. As a reminder, for those who omitted this time frame from their memory banks, it was to the Atlanta Hawks.
Similar scripts played out from those Hawks matchups that we saw on Sunday against the Pacers. The Cavaliers' shooting splits regressed to mortal numbers, they lost the rebounding battle, and the defense fell apart in the second half. Is this reason to give up on the Cavalier's title hopes? Certainly not. However, it should motivate them to avoid a losing streak to commence, especially while the wounds are fresh.
The Pacers did not do anything overly special to disrupt the Cavaliers' offense, outside of the full-court pressure. The shot selection was not detrimental, but it was noticeable that the Cavaliers appeared to be irked by the menial returns on their shot attempts. Understandable when they were held to under 100 points for the first time all season.
Overall, it feels like the Cavaliers’ as in all their losses this season seemed to have beaten themselves more than their opponent beat them. This is a good thing, teams haven’t figured out how to slow them down.
The Cavaliers are continuing to be the deciders of their own destiny. In their losses, the Cavaliers have shot 34%, 31%, 28%, 42%, and 26% from beyond the arc. When the NBA is considered a make-or-miss league, the Cavaliers are proving that the way to beat them is to catch them on a poor shooting night.
Are the Cavaliers starting to sleepwalk?
It was noticeable in the Raptors game and in stretches of the Pacers game that the Cavaliers seemed relaxed. It makes sense that a team that is confident in who they are will not falter or show signs of panic very often. Especially coming off the heels of the thrilling playoff-like environment of last Wednesday’s battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, the game in Toronto was troubling regardless of the outcome. There was a lackadaisical nature to how the Cavaliers beat the Raptors. It felt like a cat pawing at a mouse taunting its life for the cat’s enjoyment. The Cavaliers were playing with their food. You can do that against the Raptors and still pull out an albeit ‘ugly’ win. That didn’t happen Sunday.
At the end of the day, teams go through lulls in the slog of the early calendar year, especially for a team flying as high as the Cavaliers are. Tuesday’s game is a good indicator of this Cavalier team’s headspace.