NBA Matchups: May 6

IND @ CLE | GSW @ MIN

Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Pacers 110.3, Cavs 119.3

Injury Report: Darius Garland (Q, toe), De’Andre Hunter (Q, thumb), Evan Mobley (Q, ankle)

Pacers projected starters: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Cavs projected starters: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Offensive Ranks: Pacers 10th, Cavs 1st
Defensive Ranks: Pacers 13th, Cavs 8th

Season Series: 1-1 in the games that mattered (Cavs sat guys in their last two)

Carlisle quotes: Said they have to be in attack mode against the Cavs, said they still have to take care of the ball and be better on the boards, said the Pacers dug in after a big Cavs run in the third, said Nembhard was getting his 3-pointers in the flow of the offense, said Haliburton made a couple of “enormous plays” on defense down the stretch, said they have to be ready for Garland to return on Tuesday, said “we need everybody” in their rotation, said he expects the Cavs to move the ball more in Game 2. 

Atkinson quotes: Said the Pacers had them in a blender with defense, said it took a while to figure out the speed of the Pacers, said they limited the Pacers on shot quality, said the Pacers just outplayed them, said they wanted Ty Jerome out there for more handling, said Merrill gives them off-ball advantages, said Mitchell thought they needed him to fire up 30 FGAs, said the Pacers were packing the paint and they have to move the ball better, said the guys are in good spirits, said it doesn’t look good on Hunter’s thumb, said they struggled with the ball movement from the Pacers, said Garland is desperate to play and they’ll check on his status, said it’s tough for Garland to stop and start, said they don’t want to play Garland at 50-60%, said they’re going to be a paint-protecting team, said they were able to get used to the pace and that’ll help them going forward, said they need more force and focus on defense, said they have to sprint back on defense, said they were not locked in on either end, said their shot contests were “below standard”, said the Pacers were just more focused than them, said he’s surprised they didn’t have the focus after the Miami series, said they addressed how they can pick up the slack across the board, said the Pacers crossed the line with physicality on a couple of plays (De’Andre Hunter fouled when he got hurt), said the refs missed a flagrant foul on Mobley and he rolled his ankle on that play, said Mobley was limping a bunch, said Mobley and Hunter could be doubtful for Tuesday, said it’s a “real concern” on Mobley and Hunter, said Garland did some shootaround stuff and he’s going to be questionable, too.

Stats and Notes:

*Well, the Cavs have run out of good luck with their injuries. Darius Garland may not be close to 100% when he returns and the stop/start concern is a big one for how he plays. De’Andre Hunter’s thumb is a clear issue and Evan Mobley’s ankle could also keep him out. In Game 1, the Pacers just destroyed the Cavs with their shooting thanks to shooting 56.1% on their uncontested shots. The Pacers hit 15-of-24 C&S treys in Game 1, and they had the Cavs’ defense in a blender with the over-helping. The Pacers killed the Cavs in the halfcourt at 116.7, and they didn’t even have their transition game working overall. The Pacers didn’t have much rim volume in Game 1 and Indy has been ridiculous with their jumpers in the playoffs at a 69.5 eFG%. The Cavs just have to be better there. Lastly on the Pacers’ offense, they killed the Cavs with late-clock shooting at 16-of-16 from the field (73.1 eFG%). The Cavs’ offense did get some good looks as they were able to really live around the basket with 36.9% of their shots at the rim. Cleveland also had nothing in transition and their PNR game wasn’t nearly as sharp.