Every day during the 2017 NBA Playoffs, we’ll be taking a look at the action, highlights and prevailing storylines with an NBA roundup session. Here’s Day 3.
The 2017 NBA Playoffs are off to a tremendous start, and even if we end up with the Golden State Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers Finals showdown everyone’s been predicting for over a year now, would anyone be mad as long as the playoffs remain this entertaining?
Opening weekend was rife with big-time performances from superstar players, eyebrow-raising upsets and plenty of highlights and storylines all converging at the best time of year for NBA fans.
As we advance through the postseason, we’ll be taking a look at what stood out from each day of playoff action. Here’s what we took away from Game 2 of Cleveland Cavaliers-Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs-Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
The Cleveland Avengers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have not been a good basketball team lately. They’ve had the second-worst defense since the All-Star break, they’ve coughed up multiple double-digit leads at home and yet somehow, they’re comfortably up 2-0 on the Indiana Pacers in this first round series.
The Cavs are basically the Avengers: Dysfunctional as all hell, but they have a Hulk. Can the Pacers beat a Hulk? Let’s ask the Hulk himself:
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/854147763377848320
Leave it to LeBron James to supply the play that perfectly captures the spirit of an entire playoff series. Because as much as the Pacers have legitimately challenged Cleveland in Game 1 and Game 2, was anyone really surprised to see them come up short in the most typically Pacers fashion possible?
The defense is still a concern, and will continue to loom large the farther the Cavs advance through the Eastern Conference playoffs. As fun as it was to watch in Game 2, letting Kyrie Irving (37 points, 14-of-24 shooting) constantly pick apart Jeff Teague won’t be a thing in the next round.
Hit 'em with the spin button, @KyrieIrving! #DefendTheLand https://t.co/EvIizlYQWl
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 18, 2017
In fact, it’s a little concerning Indiana was even able to make it a game after Cleveland drained nine of its 15 threes in the first half. It’s even more alarming how fast Indiana whittled down the Cavs’ 15-point fourth quarter to just five with a few minutes remaining.
Luckily, despite Cleveland shooting 4-for-15 from deep in the second half, LeBron took advantage of Myles Turner matching up on him on the perimeter in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row, right when his team needed a basket to keep Quicken Loans Arena from collapsing in on itself in a Cleveland panic. He also finished the game with a 25-10-7-4-4 stat line.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to sweep this first round series, or at least enjoy a gentleman’s sweep. They’e going to be well-rested heading into the semifinals. And yet, even with a Hulk, there’s very little reason to feel good about this team right now.