For all the frustration Cleveland Cavaliers fans have had in the regular season since winning the NBA title in 2016, this first round series against the Indiana Pacers may top all of it.
The wine and gold took a 3-2 series lead in the best of seven series thanks once again to the heroics of LeBron James, the sport’s preeminent player.
James won the game with a three pointer at the buzzer. He did that after playing 41 minutes, scoring 44 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and somehow had eight assists, even though for the most part, his teammates couldn’t make a shot.
The Cavs shot just 41.3% for the game, and if you take away James’ 14 of 24 from the floor, they were under 34% on the night.
It makes the assist total even more impressive when all of the other Cavs besides James combined to make 17 shots.
We are sure in his heart of hearts, James is thanking Kyle Korver, who hit two huge threes in Game 4 to help tie the series, and last night was the only Cavalier who could seemingly make a shot, scoring 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Take Korver out of the mix, and the rest of the Cavs knocked down just 11 field goals in 40 attempts. That’s 27.5%!
JR Smith made as many shots as we did, but he harassed the Pacers’ Victor Oladipo into a 2 for 15 night, as part of a gritty defensive effort by Tyronn Lue’s team, particularly in the third quarter when Cleveland outscored Indiana 32-17 to turn a seven point halftime deficit into an eight point lead heading to the fourth quarter.
Outside of game one, when Indiana recording an 18 point win, the other four games have been decided by three, two, four, and three points.
That’s a close series.
And when a series is that close, the determining factor is usually in favor of the team with the best player, and that would be the Cavs, who also became the first team in the series to win two straight games.
James is averaging 34.8 points per game on 55% shooting, and has also made 47 of 57 free throws, as he is constantly attacking the basket.
He’s given the team a lead in the series heading into game six, despite Kevin Love shooting under 33% during the first five games, and the entire rest of the team shooting under 40% (39.3%) in this playoff season.
Love did play a solid defensive game, particularly on the perimeter, where he isn’t supposed to be able to stop anyone.
Besides Love, no other Cavalier is averaging more than 10 points per game, and Love is at just 11.8, although Korver is close at 9.8 per contest.
They are leading despite their starting point guard, George Hill, missing the last two games, and not being able to finish two others.
The three young players acquired at the trade deadline are combining to score just 17.4 points, and Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson have hit just 23 of 55 shots (42%) from the floor.
You have to think at some point, the shots will start to fall. We don’t believe these guys are that bad.
Despite all that, the Cavs can eliminate the Pacers and advance to the second round Friday night in Indianapolis. And they are in that position because they have the best player in the world.
Last night was just another reminder of that.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 