CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS. INDIANA PACERS GAME 1 INSTANT REACTION
The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers without All-Star PG Darius Garland.
Do they need Garland in this series to beat Tyrese Haliburton & the Pacers?
This game started out as a dog fight and it’s on Cleveland to find its way back in.
Cleveland was elite and sitting on top of the East standings from the moment the season tipped off, a team that never let up and powered its way to 64 wins. Indiana was 16-18 in 2024, but when the calendar flipped to 2025, it went 34-14, climbing up to the No. 4 seed.
Now these two teams face off in the second round after Cleveland swept Miami out of the playoffs, while Indiana knocked out Milwaukee for the second straight year. Here’s a preview of this second-round showdown from the NBC Sports NBA crew.
The Defensive Player of the Year will be put to the test in the conference semifinals. He didn’t have any issues in the first round, but his matchup with Pascal Siakam will be a pivotal one in this series. Mobley averaged 19.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.0 block and 2.0 three-pointers in two games against the Pacers this season, while Siakam averaged 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.0 block and 1.0 triple per game in their matchups.
Mobley will need to get the job done on both ends of the floor for the Cavs to advance to the conference finals. He hit eight three-pointers during their sweep of the Heat in the first round. If he can continue to space the floor, driving lines will open up for Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter. On defense, Siakam is a tough matchup, but Indiana’s offense is more complex than an individual matchup. During their first-round series with the Bucks, the Pacers assisted on 68.8 percent of their makes, which is the highest mark this postseason. Indiana’s Offensive Rating of 118.0 in the first round was only bested by Cleveland (136.2!), and it will take the DPOY to slow down Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers.
30 Comments
Pacers have more playoffs experience and it showed
The Pacers were forged in the clutch.
Stat padding by Mitchell won't do it. 30 shots is crazy.
The cavs showed rust from their layoff, they didnt match the pacers energy. they got humbled at home and kenny has to make some adjustments like going man to man and stop switching plus he has to use porter jr as the backup point guard … Ty, Strus and Mitchell are shooters not ball handling play makers .. Go Cavs in 5
Pacers do good with the most underrated player in the NBA….no stars but hard working guys!
Cavs are 2 round playoffs team Mitchell has never played beyond the 2round
Most Cavs fans probably aren't familiar with most of our roster, but they'll learn soon. Last year Knicks fans were laughing "Who the f#$% is Nesmith or Nembhard?" They learned who they were quickly. They have a lot more depth and talent than most know about. Keep in mind a lot of guys in the media were still picking the Bucks for our last series, who lost 1-4. They picked against Indiana every series last year and weren't right until they lost to the eventual NBA Champions Boston Celtics in the ECF.
We are not equivalent to the heat. Bro you tripping. Pacers 4-2 let’s go Indy city Pacers nation
Need to cut wades minutes and Merrill’s and okoros and tell Mobley to quit standing on 3pt line and get his ass under the bucket where he belongs
cavs will win this series against ind in 6 games
Calm down its game freaking 1. Cavs played sloppy in the 1st half and Pacers shot over 67% from 3. No that isnt their normal trend. Kenny will retool. If you thought it'd be a sweep you were foolish. And for those talking about the Pacers last year, they fought a injured bucks and knicks team and then got swept. They have the luck of playing injured playoff temas, no DG.
Cavs just didn’t shoot well the difference of this game was Indy made there open threes we did not, Cavs will be fine
Regular season record means NOTHING yall are an 0-1 team without Home Court advantage now Pacers got ALL the momentum lol
As a pacer fan I seriously appreciate you giving pacers some credit it’s so hard to get that from the national media
You wasn’t dealing with a bug 😭😭 just say u ain’t get the tickets this time
Definitely need DG in this series but let’s not overreact to this L. Learn, adjust and win game 2!!!
SMDH all my co workers talking about this is bout to be a easy sweep, yall better learn today indy is not the heat
3’s weren’t falling yes but if it wasn’t for Indiana’s 17 turnovers an gave 22 points to Cleveland this game would’ve been a blowout tbh. Cleveland got lucky they had a chance this game.
Do Cavs fans really believe they can stop the Pacers from doing anything? I mean damn! We can’t let them drive past us. We can let them shoot 3’s. We can’t let them run on us. Pacers aren’t going to shoot a high percentage from 3. Why didn’t ya’ll stop us?
Pacers in 5 ! Thanks
Wade. Was. Pure. Garbage. He couldn't BOX OUT! I'm not even mad about the offense. His D was a Taco Bell dumpster fire. Pure crap. If you don't tear someone's head off next game, go get a job pushing a broom, basketball isn't for you.
Donovan just can't get it done when it matters. Dude plays hero-ball, tries to do it all himself and it just doesn't work. He had the same problem in Utah year after year and it's the same story in Cleveland….🤷🏻♂️
I was worried we would lose Ty Jerome in the off-season…………. I'm not afraid anymore. MAKE ME AFRAID TY! SHOW UP!
Indiana is a sneaky good team. They were last year, this year, even more so .
FRAUD ALERT 🚨🚨 ⚠⚠🚨🚨
FRAUD ALERT 🚨🚨 ⚠⚠🚨🚨
FRAUD ALERT 🚨🚨 ⚠⚠🚨🚨
The Cavs played the Pacers game. Somebody pointed out in their comment about the Cavs not being battled tested and that is true. The Pacers loss in the ECFs last season. Nobody played defense on the Cavs today. Donovan Mitchell gave no effort on defense, but he would look at his teammates funny every time the Pacers got a layup or a wide open 3.
Mitchell is too inconsistent. 1-11 from 3?!
Cavaliers won't win anything if they don't get physical. Players getting slammed to the floor and people standing around nobody had anybody's back including the coach. We need a mahorn or Oakley some old-school goons.
The copium runeth over.
Cavs in 6, Pacers played an unrealistic unsustainable game tonight