Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Dreams SHATTERED as Pacers DOMINATE | Is This the End?
On today’s show, the Cavs don’t show up for game four and now they’re down 3-1. We’ve got a lot to talk about on today’s edition of Locked on Cavs. You are Locked on Cavs, your daily Cleveland Cavaliers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What’s up everybody? My name is Danny Cunningham. You might know me from my time covering the Cleveland Cavaliers, places like my Substack, The Inside Shot, Cleveland Magazine, 923 The Fan, and a number of other stops along the way. I just want to say thank you to you for making Locked on Cavs your first listening today and every day you can find the show anywhere you get your podcast, Apple, Spotify, anywhere else. Drop us a fivestar rating. Leave us a nice review. Be a friend. Tell a friend about Locked on Cavs. Make sure you’re subscribed. Make sure a friend is subscribed as well. And if you’re watching the show on YouTube, do me a favor. Hit that thumbs up button for me. Click subscribe and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss the latest lock on Cavs content. A proud part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Today’s episode of course brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. The Cleveland Cavaliers lose game four to the Indiana Pacers 129 to 109. 20 point loss. It was not a 20 point loss. This was a 41 point loss. The Cavs were trailing at halftime 8239 on Sunday night. They played the worst half of basketball. They’ve played all season long. They did nothing well offensively. They did nothing well defensively. The Pacers played great. Full credit to them. I thought they were terrific defensively. Thought they made some good looks that they generated. Thought they made some tough shots that the Cavs did actually defend well. But when you allow a team to get comfortable, which I thought the Cavs allowed Indiana to get comfortable very early in this game, sometimes good defense doesn’t matter. Nothing went well for the Cavs in this game. Nothing. I might maybe be able to squeeze one positive out in the final segment of the show, but the Cavs no-showed in the biggest game of the year. That’s what happened on Sunday night here in Indianapolis. The Cavs had the opportunity after losing game one because they were not ready for the Pacers tempo, losing game two because they could not close. They come to Indianapolis with the opportunity to get back in this series. They take care of business in game three. They played really well. Donovan Mitchell was great. Really nice win. Lot to be happy about from Friday. And then you fast forward to Sunday and they have the chance to tie the series up at two and go home two to two. You’ve won the last two. Then if you have if you don’t win in five and six, you’ve got game seven at home. That’s what you could feel good about. Instead, the game was played here in Gameridge Fieldhouse. I don’t know where the Cavs were, but the Cavs did not show up for this game. Nobody had a good game for them. They played with no force. They played with no physicality. They looked like a team that was exhausted. And maybe they are tired. maybe this last week has been a lot on them considering some of the injuries and the fact that they had to mentally get past to game two and like all that stuff can be true, but ultimately the way I look at it with the state of this team in terms of their health um with Darius Garland, with Evan Mobley, with now Donovan Mitchell, who did not play in the second half of this game because of a sprained ankle, he did tell Cleveland.com and I believe The Athletic as well that he will play. He will be there for game five on Tuesday. Kenny Atinson said Donovan’s going to get an MRI on Monday. We’ll see what happens. I’m recording this at 1:15 in the morning on Monday after game four. So, I have no idea. I would expect he’s going to try and play. If he plays great, how effective is he going to be? I don’t know. But with where this team is at healthwise, coming back from down 3-1 is not just coming back from down 3-1. coming back from down 3-1 is doing it while you’re nowhere near your best. Like this, the version that we’ve seen of the Cavs in this series is so far removed from what the best version of the Cavs this year was. I think that is the thing ultimately like the injuries have certainly played a part in that. There’s no doubt about that. Not having Evan Mobley for a game mattered big time. Not having Darius Garland for two games mattered big time. The version of Darius Garland that we’re currently seeing is not the all-star version of Darius Garland. That all matters a lot and you have to provide that context, but there’s no way to paint this other than a massive disappointment. This game was a massive disappointment. This series so far was a massive has been a massive disappointment. Now, if they come back from down 3-1 and win the next three and and beat the Pacers in seven, advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, that will change things. But I I’m really searching right now to find reasons to think that that could happen. Like what I keep coming back to, and if you’ve been listening to this podcast throughout this series, it is at some point the Cavs have to start shooting the basketball better. That wasn’t in game four. It they’ve not I don’t believe and let me pull this up because I don’t know the final stats. Um but they like their starting five did not shoot the ball well. They shot 40% from three partially because Jaylen Tyson hit two, Isaac Auroro hit two in the fourth quarter. Um, Chumoi hit one. Like they hit five threes. They went 14 of 35 partially because in garbage time when there was no pressure and there was not any game pressure in the second half at all. Like this game was decided with around three minutes left in the second quarter when the Pacers went on a run to close out the half. That’s when this game was over. But the Cavs key players have not shot the ball well in this series. Darius Garland one of five. Donovan Mitchell one of five. Max Drew has showed up. He’s about the only one. Three of seven. Evan Moley two of four. But one of those was in the second half when there was no game pressure. Um Ty Jerome one of one that came in the second half when there was no game pressure. DeAndre Hunter 0 of two. Sam Merill of two. Um Dean Wade one of two. I believe that make was in the second half when there was no game pressure. Like they were at halftime five of 19 on threes. So, if you want to talk yourself into it, it’s okay. The Cavs are at some point going to start shooting the ball. Well, maybe that’s game five. Outside of that, the Pacers have the Pacers absolutely dominated this game. And the Cavs can still look themselves in the mirror. Well, you know, we outplayed Indie in game two. We outplayed Indie significantly in game three. This should be a two- two series at worst. Should be, but that’s not the reality we live in. The Cavs blew a game at home in game two. They were not prepared in game one. and they eliminated all of their margin for error. That’s what happened there. Winning the series after that stuff was not impossible, but you couldn’t afford a night like this one. You could not afford a night like what Sunday night was where it’s not just that they lose, it’s that they got absolutely dominated. Like the Pacers looked like a team capable of winning in the finals and the Cavs looked like a team that didn’t belong in the playoffs in this game. It was about as surprised as I have been about a result for a Cavs game this year. I thought that they were going to come in here and play with a lot of force, play with a lot of physicality, and be the same team that we saw on Friday because the team we saw on Friday, again, outside of the shooting, pretty closely resembled what the Cavs were all season long. They didn’t win 64 games by accident. It’s not that this team stinks all of a sudden. is that they’re playing their worst basketball at the worst possible time. They’ve picked a couple bad days, they have a couple bad days, and in a short sample size like this where it’s a best of seven, you don’t get to do that. And the Cavs have probably cost themselves this season like I and this is not the time to do this because the season is not over and like it is possible for them to come back. Again, I wouldn’t bet on it, but it is possible. They won 64 games to maybe maybe make it one game further than they did last year. Think about that for a second. Like that is what was put in play by this game tonight. Last year they lost in the second round of the Boston Celtics in five games. If they don’t win on Tuesday, they’ve won 64 games and lost in the second round in five games. like this year the the regular season success was great and the Cavs deserve a lot of credit for it. They did everything right. They were great. They played with so much depth. They played a great brand of basketball. They were so fun to watch. But a lot of that goes out the window when you have a massive playoff failure that they’re staring down the barrel of right now. And that is the one thing that I just keep coming back to is that how could this team be so good, especially offensively during this season and then disappear the way they have in this series because that happened. That’s what happened like defensively was not good enough at any point in this game. But I do think that their defense was very severely impacted by their their struggles offensively. I think that the fact they gave up 80 points in the first half, unacceptable obviously, but the fact that they gave up 80 points in the first half, I think is very very directly connected to the fact that they only scored 39 in the first half. If the Cavs had an average offensive half, they’re not winning this game. No way. But they’re not down by 41. And the Pacers don’t score 80. It’s probably a 20point game, which not great, but is a salvageable thing at halftime. Instead, the Cavs did nothing well, and now they’re fighting for their season because of it. Those are not words I expected to be saying. And afterwards in the locker room, as you might expect, it was a very quiet locker room. It was a very, very quiet locker room here at Cambridge Fieldhouse because the Cavs know the hole that they’re in. Now, 3-1 leads. There have been comes comebacks before. Maybe you’ve heard about one that the Cavs have had. This is a very tall mountain to climb. It’s a very, very tall mountain to climb. And the fact that now Donovan Mitchell might be a little bit more compromised than he already was, that makes it all the more difficult. We’re going to talk about the injury situation and all the other stuff that I didn’t hit on because there was so much stuff that went wrong on Sunday night that we have more to talk about next right here on Locked on Cavs. Today’s show is brought to you by Door Dash. NBA fans, you know what time it is. It’s playoff season. That means big performances and even bigger rewards. And Door Dash is bringing the heat with a slam dunk deal for Dash Pass members during the 2025 NBA playoffs. It’s called They Swoosh, You Score. Anytime a player drops 50 or more points in a playoff game, Dash Pass members score a free threepiece crispy tender combo from Wingstop the very next day. Just place an order of $20 or more. Use code wingstop50. That is wing sop50 at checkout. And that combo is yours. Crispy, delicious, and totally free. Offer valid noon to midnight the day after the game. Terms of course do apply. Again, sign up for Dash Pass to unlock this and more exclusive deals all season long. When any player scores 50 or more in a playoff game, Dash Pass members can grab a free threepiece crispy tender combo from Wingstop the next day with a $20 order and code Wingstop 50. That is Dash Pass, your door to more savings, more flavor, and more ways to win. Thank you again for making Lockdown Cavs your first listen today and every day. Like I said earlier, for listening, wherever you get your podcasts, make sure you subscribe and tell a friend about locked on Cavs as well. Donovan Mitchell did not play in the second half of this game. It was a weird situation because he came out of the locker room um as everybody does to warm up for the second half. And I didn’t see what happened live. And I’ve seen the videos that have been circulating social media of the the injury. Um, which I don’t know if this was something that maybe he tweaked in the first half and was testing it out or if he heard it at that moment. I asked Kenny Atinson after the game like, “How did Donovan hurt this?” And he did not have an answer for me. He did not know. Um, and Kenny also said that Donovan’s going to get an MRI on his ankle on Monday. So, we’ll see what those results bring. As I mentioned in the first segment, Donovan told Cleveland.com that he’s going to be there Tuesday, that he’s going to play. We’ll see what happens. I I don’t know. I can’t tell the future. We will see what happens. But trying to come back from a 3-1 deficit without Donovan Mitchell or without the healthy version of Donovan Mitchell makes this so much tougher because what in the two games that the Cavs have looked good. So game two and game three, the common denominator there is Donovan Mitchell was great. Game two, 48 points nearly wills the Cavs to victory, a game they should have won. Game three, 43 points. I think for my money the second best non LeBron Cavs playoff game that the franchise has ever had. That’s how great he was in game three. So if they don’t have that version of him when Evan Mobley is, you know, I did not think he was good in this game. I thought he was good in game three. Darius Garland is not himself right now. Um DeAndre Hunter is not giving you much. And I think that the thumb is certainly a factor. He did not shoot the ball well again tonight. um also involved in an altercation with Benedict Matin we’ll talk about in a second. But you look at all the all of these things and like the Cavs being where they’re at in this series is explainable. It’s they are excuses. It doesn’t mean they’re wrong, but they have excuses for this because of the health aspect and just how important that really is. But trying to come back from this without Donovan Mitchell feels like a fool’s Aaron. Now I would bet he tries to play because that’s who Donovan Mitchell is. And you know I don’t know how severe this ankle sprain was. He was not wearing a walking boot after the game which is a good sign but we’ll see. Um, maybe, and I wish I would have asked Kenny Atinson this, maybe if this were a game in the second half as opposed to the Cavs being down by 41 at halftime, Donovan plays. Maybe he can play through it. But down 41 at halftime, it could be could be a type of thing where it’s like, hey, it’s 41 points. Obviously has been dealing with a calf thing. Ankles bothering him. Game five is 48 hours away. Let’s just call it a day and we’re gonna start our work to do the improbable next. Maybe that’s it. I don’t know. I didn’t ask about that. I don’t know. That’s the only like way that I could look at this and say, “Okay, it’s not that bad.” But his jumper wasn’t great tonight. And that, you know, you think, okay, lower lower body issue happening right there. Um, it’s just it’s a tough spot to be in for the Cavs all around and with Darius Garland may So, here’s the one positive thing that I can get to is Darius Garland played in the second half of this game. Um, the fact that he played in the second half while dealing with the foot injury that he has been dealing with, I do think is a good sign. Now, offensively, he’s starting to look better. Defensively, he has not been very good. And I do wonder and I asked him about playing in the second half if he found some rhythm because in the first half he wasn’t good. Nobody was good, right? Like I don’t need to tell you that. You watch the game, you know. In the second half Garland didn’t he played the whole third quarter, scored 12 points on four six shooting, didn’t hit any threes, but was able to kind of find the spots on the floor he likes to get to. I’m also not going to sit here and say the Pacers tried super hard in the second half. I thought they coasted for those full 24 minutes they had on cruise control. We’re good. We will see you in game five. We’re going to try and end your season Tuesday night on your home floor. They did not. They did not put forth a good effort. They didn’t need to put forth a good effort. They were up by 41 at halftime. If you guys think back to the game the Cavs played at home back in this would have been early November against the Golden State Warriors. This was the inverse of that. That’s what this was. Cavs were up in at halftime in that game by 41 points. They won it by like 25 because they didn’t try in the second half. That’s what happened here. The Pacers didn’t try in the second half. Like this was a 20point loss that let’s call it what it is. This was a 41 point loss. This was one of the most embarrassing losses I think the Cavs have ever had as a franchise considering the stakes. I don’t think embarrassment is a strong enough word. I don’t think colossal failure. If you listen to the instant reaction podcast I did with Tony East um after the game that was posted before this one, you know, he called it a colossal failure. I don’t think that’s strong enough. Like this was just an absolute dud. And if you want to take out that Garland maybe found his rhythm and maybe that’s a sign for the future that you could be happy about. And you know Evan Mobley doesn’t have two bad games in a row. Maybe you can be happy about that. It all kind of feels like grasping for straws right now. It does. I mean, they get to go home. If they win game five, they come back here. Like, I And I do expect them to win game five because they’ll be at home and they’re a good team and I just don’t think they’re going to go out that way. But this is such a tall task. This is such such a tall task for them to try and climb. And doing it without Donovan Mitchell being at 100%. Doing it without So, they have three all-stars that from this year, none of them are close to 100% right now. And that makes this so much more difficult. It really does. But this was not about injuries tonight. This was about want to. This was about force. Kenny Atinson uses that word a lot. And he used that word um today because he uses it most times when he’s talking about physicality and pace and, you know, controlling the game, dictating the tempo, stuff like that. He kind of all puts that together as force. And I do like that as a term. And I think it’s something you can see and the Pacers very clearly played with a lot of force on Sunday night and the Cavs just let them. Like the Cavs just kind of watched the Pacers do whatever they wanted. The Pacers did not have any issues against the Cavs. The Cavs in this game had little to no force. Like it was it was almost as if guys different guys were just wearing the Cavs uniforms from the ones that played on Friday night. That’s what it felt like watching this game. I I don’t know the last time I was as surprised by a Cavs outcome as I was this game. This was a jarring defeat. It was a jarring defeat. I don’t know how they come back from it. I don’t. They can. I I don’t necessarily know the formula. I said I would try and find some positives. So, we’re gonna do that next. Maybe I will figure out a way to talk everybody into how this team can win in seven games, even if it feels very improbable at this moment right now. We’ll do that next right here on Locked on Caps. Today’s show brought to you by Monarch Money. You ever check your bank account, wonder where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, entertainment, it’s easy to lose track of all that cash. Well, that’s where Monarch Money comes in. Because they’ll be your personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money isn’t just a budgeting app. It is a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending right in one place. So, you stop managing your money and start building your wealth. Instead of juggling multiple apps, you can use Monarch to check your finances, track spending, even plan for some of those long-term goals that I know you have. and managing money with your partner smoother than ever. You can track shared and personal accounts, set goals, and stay on the same page without all of the stress. So, take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s code lockdown NBA. Loca at monarchmoney.com for half off your first year. Today’s show also brought to you by Hungry Routt. Everyone might be asking you, why am I so busy? Why do I not have the time to go grocery shopping, to cook healthy meals, to do everything that you want to do? Maybe you don’t have that time, but you do have time to use Hunger Root because Hunger Root’s like having your own personal shopper and nutritionist wrapped into one. They’ll take care of your grocery shopping and meal planning, offering personalized recommendations based on your taste and health goals. Hungry will tailor your order based on what you like or maybe didn’t love in the past. It gets smarter every single time. They’ve got high quality, nutritious food that helps you stick to maybe a gut- friendly, high protein diet without having to spend hours planning what you’re going to put into your body. The meals come together in 15 minutes or less, giving you more time to hit the gym, spend time with family, maybe, I don’t know, some of the other hobbies that you might have because I don’t know what your hobbies are. But what you do need to do is take advantage of this exclusive deal because right now you can get 40% off your first box plus plus a free item in every box for life. Go to hungry.com/lockdown NBA. Use code lockdown NBA. L O C E D O NBA. That is hungry.com/lockdown NBA. Code lockdown NBA for 40% off in a lifetime free item. Thank you again for making Lockdown Cavs your first listen today and every day. Like I said, if you’re watching the video on YouTube, do me a favor. Hit that thumbs up button for me. Click subscribe and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss the latest locked on Cavs content. All right, here’s how the Cavs can do this one. Donovan Mitchell’s ankle sprain is not that bad. That is what the answer needs to be when the Cavs get an MRI on Donovan’s Mitchell on his ankle on Monday. If it is not that bad, they have some hope because they need Donovan Mitchell to be great to win the next three games in this series. Number two, they’ve got to start hitting shots. I know I’ve talked about this a ton in this series. It probably sounds like a broken record, but if the Cavs are shooting their average percentage from three, they’re probably up 3-1 right now in this series. If they just have average three-point games, they’re probably winning this series, three games to one. Instead, they’ve had three abysmal performances. Now, they won one of those games. They would not have won tonight. Just to be clear, like shooting 40% from three, which they technically did, would not have won them this game tonight. They would not have found a way to win tonight just by being average on threes. But I think game one they would have. Game two, they certainly would have. So maybe, as Kenny Atinson said, at some point they’re going to have a hot shooting night. Maybe that starts on Tuesday and maybe it goes, you know, Tuesday they shoot the ball great, Thursday they shoot the ball great, game seven on Sunday, whatever happens happens. Maybe that’s the case. It could be like that’s not the craziest thing to think. I think that’s actually probably more likely than Donovan Mitchell being 100% at any point in the rest of the series. I think that the Cavs getting hot from three is a more likely thing than that. Number three, they only have to win one road game to do it. I do think on Tuesday night in Cleveland, I think they’ll take care of business because I don’t think that they’re going to want the season end this way. And I know they don’t want the season to end in this round. Like that sounds silly to say, but I think at home they will play well. I think they’ll play much better. I think that there’s a chance too that the Pacers don’t play well in that game. Um last year, and you heard this on the initial reaction podcast with Tony East last year, Indie was in a very similar spot against the Bucks, Milwaukee got boat raced by them in game four. They didn’t have Giannis. They didn’t have game. They go back to Milwaukee for game five and the Bucks win without their two best players because the Pacers did not play well. And then game six, Indie took care of business. I could see that happening. Um, and then, okay, so you’ve won one home game, you have to come win a road game. Something the Cavs have done. They’ve won in this building twice this year. That’s not a crazy thing to think that could happen. And then after that you have a game seven at home and you have if he’s healthy the best player in the series in Donovan Mitchell you won 64 games win one game at home to advance like that I think is the recipe. Again as I mentioned earlier don’t think it’s all that likely. The health of this team is not in a great place. They’re not playing great basketball. They did nothing well in this game. I think that this would be a very improbable comeback as all 3-1 comebacks are. They’ve happened, I believe, 13 times in the NBA. All of them have been improbable. But this is that’s the blueprint is you win game five and then you have to find a way to win here. And if you do that a game seven at home, you feel really good about it. It’s getting to that point that’s the really tough test. The thing the Cavs have going for them is two of those three games they need to win are at home. Can they do it? I don’t know. I don’t. I thought they were going to win this game tonight. I thought they were going to win this series. The way that I looked at this is whoever won game four, and I think this is true more often than not, and of course it is. But in a series that’s two to one, whoever wins game four, whether it’s to go up 3-1 or to tie it at two, you feel pretty good about that team is the one that’s going to win the series. The Pacers, they played like that. They played like a desperate team in this game. And I mentioned this during the Heat series. One of the things I was very impressed with with the Cavs was they were the more desperate team despite the fact that they were winning two nothing, three nothing in that series. The Pacers are the ones that treated this game on Sunday like it was a must-win. It was a must-win for the Cavs. Maybe you could talk me into it was a must-win for the Pacers, too. Like, you could talk me into that. But the Cavs didn’t show up like it was a must-win. They showed up like it was just a January Tuesday. The Pacers showed up like this was a game seven, and they played like it. And it was so evident. And that’s that is probably the most troubling part of all of this is that the Cavs got to the point where their season was sort of on the line and they were down by 41 at halftime. That is it’s a pretty tough pill I think for this organization to swallow. I will be back tomorrow talking probably more about this game. Probably we’ll have some injury updates um and start looking ahead to game five. what could be the final game of the Cavs season. So, thank you for making Locked on Cavs your first listen today and every day. Like I said earlier, you can find the show anywhere you get your podcast, Apple, Spotify, anywhere else. Drop us a fivestar rating. Leave us a nice review as well. Be a friend. Tell a friend about Lock on Cast. Make sure you’re subscribed. Make sure a friend is subscribed as well. And if you’re watching the show on YouTube, do me a favor. Hit that thumbs up button for me. Click subscribe. Hit that notification bell. And I will be back tomorrow with more locked on calves.
On this episode of Locked On Cavs, Danny Cunningham (The Inside Shot, Cleveland Magazine, 92.3 The Fan) examines the Cleveland Cavaliers’ crushing defeat to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of their playoff series, which leaves them trailing 3-1. Cunningham provides a critical analysis of the Cavaliers’ performance, highlighting their struggles both offensively and defensively, and discusses the impact of injuries to key players like Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley. He also speculates on the potential for a comeback, considering the historical rarity of teams overcoming a 3-1 deficit. The episode offers insights into the Cavaliers’ shooting woes and outlines a possible path to victory, emphasizing the importance of upcoming games and the need for a strong performance from the team.
Check out Danny’s Substack, The Inside Shot: https://theinsideshot.substack.com/
Email the show: LOCavsmailbag@gmail.com
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Prizepicks
Now’s the perfect time to join. Download the app today and use code LOCKEDONNBA to get $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup! That’s right—no need to win to get the bonus, it’s guaranteed. PrizePicks—Run Your Game!
Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNBA
Hungryroot
With Hungryroot, it’s like having a personal shopper and a nutritionist all in one. For a limited time, get 40% off your first box and a free item in every box for life! Just go to Hungryroot.com/lockedonnba and use code LOCKEDONNBA.
CarGurus
Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.
WayFair
After the holiday hustle, there’s nothing like giving your home a little TLC. Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k
Did you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.
Door Dash
Sign up for DashPass and when any player scores 50+ in a playoff game, DashPass members can grab a free 3PC Crispy Tenders Combo from Wingstop the next day, with a $20+ order and code WINGSTOP50. That’s DashPass: your door to more savings, more flavor, and more ways to win. Terms apply.
Valid only at participating Wingstop locations. Fees (including service fee), taxes, and gratuity still apply. Orders must have a minimum subtotal of $20, excluding taxes and fees. Offer valid on 4/15/25-6/22 /25 or while supplies last. Valid for one (1) promotional redemption per customer. DoubleDash promotions apply only to your DoubleDash add-on order, not your primary order. DoubleDash orders are not valid for the purchase of alcohol. No cash value. Non-transferable. Discount applies to subtotal only; does not apply to fees, taxes, and gratuity. Not valid for pickup. Limit one per person. Not valid for the purchase of alcohol. Fees, taxes, and gratuity still apply. Must have an active DashPass account. Use promo code WINGSTOP50 to redeem. See full terms and conditions at drd.sh/qnAXuU
Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.
FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOCavs?sid=YouTube
Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA
#Cavs #ClevelandCavaliers #NBA
44 Comments
This is what happens when you think the regular season translates to the playoffs.
Start looking forward to next season this s*** is cooked.
Cannot even find the words of disbelief . This team has all the tools to advance to the finals but are not mentally tough . It’s crazy ! If we are really honest , we seen their shooting percentage start to slump even 2 months ago . Live by the 3 and they died by the 3 . We do not have enough players willing to drive to the basket and take all bumps that go with it . Very few are proficient shooting midrange . You have to have the complete package to advance . They do not have that . Pacers do .
Crazy my long-winded comment with no profanity got deleted 🤦🏾♀️ 🤦🏾♀️ 🤦🏾♀️ 🤦🏾♀️ 🤦🏾♀️ 🤦🏾♀️ I'm done here
Excuses ain't a good look bruh
Team just isn’t tough enough. Extremely talented team, but their lack of toughness will prevent them from winning anything..
lmfao its so funny how everyone outside of Cleveland seen this coming from miles and miles away but the cavs fans just clueless . Regular season means nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! take that one chip bron gave yall and cherish it forever
The regular season record doesn't matter.
The playoffs are on a different level which exposes how soft the Cavs are.
This team is just like the Lenny Wilkens coached Cavs teams from the 90's with Mark Price and Brad Daugherty, beautiful basketball to watch until the playoffs where the opposition roughed them up and the Cavs had no enforcer to answer the call.
This team is softer than expensive toilet paper
Do the Cavs call the Bucks about Giannis?
This game was painful to watch.
We played like how the Heat played in Game 4 of the first round.
I love ❤️ my Cavs but they're all 🍳
It is NOT possible for them to win. This is over. Face reality. This shows that EM isn't the guy.
This is what happens when you have a historic regular season…when you come back down 23 on the road vs rhe champs…when you have a historic 1st round demolition of the Heat….when you lose 3 of your top 6 guys and still dominate your opponent for most of game 2….when you throttle your oppoent at their house in game 3.
Over.
Confidence.
Props to Indy for serving up some serious humble pie. The Cavs didnt play with desperation and got double-Cavalanched. Hope they've learned from this ass-whoopin'.
Cavs in 7
This series is not over. Ive seen crazier things happen
Today's LOCKED ON THE BRINK is brought to you by MONARCH MONEY !
If this series keeps going as is, MONARCH MONEY will help you efficiently plan your finances next week in Cancun, as a Cleveland Cavalier !
Injuries and fatigue can’t be used as excuses when their effort was so piss-poor. That game was over before well before it began. They have no mental toughness and at the slightest sign of adversity, they crumble. They’ve been doing it since the last month of the regular season.
Honestly it’s the Pacers defense, that gets no credit
Tbh i dodnt expect much from the cavs. All donovan mitchell teams be good regular season teams and then get bouce early in the playoffs so i aint surprised by this at all
They aint coming back my dude
I saw this coming when we played the Pacers earlier in the regular season. Cavaliers can't handle physicality! Their offense disappears, and Defense is devastated! Weak!
U Cavs fans deserve this for all that disrespect u were throwing LeBrons way
Been tryna tell everybody this team wasn’t getting far 2nd or 3rd round exit at best they was never gettin to the finals … look at the role players & the PG they decided to keep , they did nothing to improve team except get hunter & now the results are showing once again . I should be a physic cuz I predicted this would happen LOL everybody acting all surprised .. poor Spida he needs help !
What happened to all of the Cavs fans trolling Miami Heat fans ?
Pacers coach, Rick Carlisle. Great coach.
What boggles my mind is that the Cavs whooped them the game before and somehow had no confidence in their ability the following game. Their offense was flaccid. Their shoots had no “oomf”. Their defense was slow. And the Cavs were visibly upset and flustered. The Pacers have gotten in their heads. This is unacceptable. This is NOT the attitude of a championship team. Even IF by some miracle the Cavs shape up and beat the Pacers three in a row there is no shot we can repeat these kinda of mistakes vs Boston or who reaches the finals. I am disgusted by this collapse.
If you ask Boston who the toughest team they faced last year they will tell you it was Indy.
I still maintain the Pacers are the better team. They have been since Jan 1.
Cavs and their fans were frontrunning all season. When they got punched in the mouth they never responded
Donovan looked at the scoreboard…that’s how he hurt his ankle…
Cavs always choked in the playoffs
this man is DEFEATED
Packwatch
Theres only one man that can save yall
That loss was an 8+ on the Richter scale and aftershocks will be felt for seasons to come, never to be forgotten completely. Begs the question, "Who's Your Daddy?"
From what I'm seeing, Indiana looks more composed than Cavaliers, when I say composed it's the way they move the ball, the guy Haliburton has a Lebron-like eye sight and just flat out sees the floor a little better than anybody out there, he arranges people on the floor pretty much like Lebron, the only thing though is that he doesn't have the scoring prowess of a Lebron so you can stop this guy–he's not one of those unstoppable ones; but he's been the catalyst in this game; Indiana as a result has a lot of wide open clear shots, meanwhile Cavaliers has a lot of ISOs shot that's contested. That was clear to me.
I think if Cavs wants a miracle, it has to start with: they have to do something about Halliburton because he's putting those guys in perfect positions. If you take this guy away, Indiana will play off balance, uncomposed and they will reveal their true level. Right now, Haliburton makes them play at a higher level than they are.
The dilemma that teams have when they play Indiana is who do you put your best defender on? Because they have 8-9 other players that can light it up anywhere at anytime . The best way to beat Indiana is shoot a high percentage from the FG to
Limit the transition. Indiana in transition will run past you and light you up
He didn't play in the second half because they were down 41.
You're never believing in this team again until he prove me wrong. Got 0 expectations next season.
I think the Cavs know this was their shot. There will be changes and the players know and expect it
I am a heat fan. You guys destroyed us, and I thought that with the addition of Hunter, you guys could have beaten the celtics. The truth is, Jarret Allen has been a complete no show, he just stands sometimes. Garland is like 50% of what he is. And Mobley is like Bam but with even less offensive skillset. Whatever you guys say, Herro and Bam did well with Jimmy, but Mobley and Garland didn't with Mitchell.
Jarret Allen:
"The lights were brighter than expected"
Huge disappointment. I can’t believe they’re imploding like this. It’s a massive failure.