Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 takeaways from Game 5 vs. Pacers

2. Defense on Indy’s backcourt proves key

With a combined 16 points on just 3-of-20 shooting, the backcourt combination of Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo failed to produce in the Pacers’ Game 5 defeat.

Collison continues to struggle in this series, averaging just 9.3 points on 36.6 percent shooting in the first four games of this series, unable to find his rhythm against the defense of George Hill and Jose Calderon.

The more shocking development has been the play, or lack thereof, from Oladipo.

As the leader of the Pacers, the first-time All-Star is expected to carry the majority of the scoring burden for Indiana. In the last three games though, Oladipo has failed to live up to that burden, with terrible shooting numbers as well as a surplus of turnovers.

From Cleveland’s perspective, shutting down Indiana’s backcourt, specifically Oladipo, is the key to winning this series. As the only offensive weapon on the Pacers capable of scoring 20+ points consistently, taking Oladipo out of the game leaves Indiana scrambling to find another source of offense.

When planning out a defensive scheme, you can’t plan for every possible scenario. Coach Tyronn Lue has to make a plan for the most likely turn of events, and that includes Oladipo playing well.

Yes, as we saw in Game 3, Bojan Bogdanovic can erupt for 30 points, but the odds of that occurring for the second time in three games aren’t great.

If Cleveland can maintain this lockdown that it currently has on Oladipo, it’ll be in great shape to close out this series in six games.