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The pacers are notorious for 4th quarter comebacks. You can start to see Tyrese Halliburton licking his lips when they start getting cooking.

Whether you like them or not, you can’t deny that they can get electric in the 4th quarter— we’ve now seen this in all 3 playoff games.

Seems like the best move to combat this when they start turning on is to secure those paint shots. We need more ally oops, we only had a couple tonight. Mitchell sacrificing himself as a body bag for the FT attempts unfortunately isn’t super sustainable…

If we win every game going forward, we still play them 3 more times. What do you think Kenny Atkinson as a coach is doing to disrupt this?

Thank you for the season you had Ty, but you are cooked.

I was originally happy the Celts also blew a 20 point lead at home to go down 0-2. But now I’m sad because I realize the east is likely wide open if we were healthy and this was our year. Still not over, but the Celtics woes would be that much sweeter right now if we weren’t missing 50% of our top players

AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Worse than ours? They're healthy...

There, I said it. You can downvote me now. In fact, I think it's unethical to ask a hurt player to play. Remember when IT played hurt, and then what did he get in return? Traded, couple of minimal contracts and then out of the league you go. Same with KD when he came back in the finals and ruptured his achilles. It's not a player's fault that they get injured, and if there are any risks to their long-term health, they 100% shouldn't play.

Edit: the length of this rant got away from me. tl;dr accusing players who are out with injury of being soft or unmotivated is disgusting behavior

No, this has nothing to do with last night’s disappointing outcome

No, this has nothing to do with the fourth quarter meltdown

No, this has nothing to do with poor performances from players we needed to step up

No, this has nothing to do with calls that were or weren’t made down the stretch last night.

No, this has nothing to do with us seemingly being on the verge of another second round playoff exit with injuries to our best players

My disgust is entirely the result of many of the responses I’ve seen on here regarding Mobley, Garland, and Hunter being out with injuries.

I’ve seen multiple posts/comments getting on any or all of these players’ cases about not playing due to injury, accusing them of being soft, not committed, or even scared. All coming from people who know absolutely nothing about the details of their injuries.

Do you really think after this entire season, and the things they did to get us here, that the players, medical staff, and coaches aren’t doing everything possible to play? Do you really think the prospect of a championship isn’t enough motivation for them to try to return?

I think that’s absolutely ridiculous. I guarantee you nobody involved is taking the decision to not play lightly.

It’s hard enough to be an athlete who’s worked all year, and really who’s worked their whole life, to reach this moment and be sidelined with injury, forced to watch as your team loses close games that most likely would’ve been wins if you were able to play. All of that is even worse when the fans, the people who are supposed to have your back and support you, decide to pile on top of it.

I’m choosing to believe this is a vocal minority of us here, and many people expressing this sentiment have been rightfully downvoted. I also recognize these could just be trolling. But in case anyone legitimately feels this way, it needs to be said.

Accusing players who led us to the best regular season in franchise history, players who played multiple games over the course of that with various levels of injury, of being soft or unmotivated because they’re too injured to play is not just unsupportive, it’s toxic and disgusting.

And if you find yourself with these thoughts, it’s a failure of your own character, and it’s time to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if that’s really the kind of person you want to be.

Rant over. Cavs in 6. Let ‘em know.

I expected it to be a lot, lot worse.

I didn't hear no bell.

The Last 2 Min Report Link is out.

There were 20 plays reviewed:

• 10 of them were Correct Non-Call (CNC),
• 7 Correct Call (CC), and;
• 3 Incorrect Non-Call

Here's a quick breakdown of the INC and how they impacted the game:

1. Q4: 00:48 – Violation: Double Lane. Multiple players enter the lane and crossed the three-point line before the ball is released for the free throw. The basket should had been nullified and a jump ball held at midcourt. Play Link. This is where the Cavs lead the Pacers 119-112. The result of this play was a dunk by the Pacers to shorten the Cav’s lead from 7 to 5. This gave the Pacers a valuable scoring opportunity they shouldn’t have had.

2. Q4: 00:15 – Foul: Defense 3 Second. Mitchell is in the paint for longer than three seconds without actively guarding an opponent. Play Link. From the video, it is kinda hard to see who he is defending, but you can make the assumption that he was defending Nesmith. However, Jarrett Allen wasn’t too far off from Turner. I personally think that this wasn’t an INC because the term “actively” is kinda being used loosely here.

3. Q4: 00:12 – Violation: Double Lane. Multiple players enter the lane and cross the three-point line before the ball is released for the free throw, and the shooter steps over the plane of the free throw before the ball touches the rim. The call should have been made and a jump ball held at midcourt. Play Link. This is where the Cavs lead the Pacers 119-117, and the Pacers missed their free throw attempt, got the rebound to make a 3 point attempt to win the game.

It sucks that it came down to the wire like this, but I hope that the Cavs learn from this experience as these missed call absolutely shaped the final moments.

Yes, there are many reasons we lost but what really disappointed me was seeing Ty struggle so much and Kenny not make the adjustment. Craig is a dawg. He woulda been fresh legs and he can make plays. He got a few minutes but when it mattered, he was ignored and I didn’t like it

Last night was as rough as it gets but the players fought their asses off. Championships are not meant to be easy and adversity builds character. I have no doubt this team will continue to fight their asses off and hopefully we can get healthy. This team has given us an incredible season and will have my support until the very end. I’m sure they’re just as disappointed as anyone right now with how it’s going.

Some people in here need to chill with bashing our players right now. We were asking everyone to do much more than they’re typical role last night.

Ty had a terrible night last night, no way around it. This doesn’t mean he’s ass. The majority of this sub spent the year dreading losing him and questioning whether he’s better than Darius. He’s not used to starting (honestly wasn’t crazy about starting him over Merrill) and I think the Pacers defense is a tough matchup for him stylistically.

Okoros offense is a work in progress and can seem afraid of getting the ball at times. But the guys fights his ass off every night on defense. People will remember the last second Hali shot but up to that point he had 16 points and 4 assists in large part because of the work Ice was doing all night to deny him the ball. We also asked him to bring up the ball against the press and he did so without turning the ball over. Not having him in on that missed free throw may have cost us the game as I’m not sure Hali gets that clean of a look with Ice hounding him.

Strus, Merrill, Donny, & JA should go without saying, they played awesome and left absolutely everything they had on the floor.

I know losing that game sucks and the late game execution needed to be better. But the only reason we were in that situation to begin with is because our guys fought their asses off all night. These guys deserve a lot better than what some of you guys are giving them right now. We asked a lot of guys to do things they’re not accustomed to doing and it caught up at the very end. That was a gutty performance.

We may very well lose this series. This game may have dug us a hole that we can’t come back from. But this team won 15 games straight multiple times this season. We’ve proven we can rattle off multiple wins in a row. Theres no reason we can’t come back from this if we can get healthy. I know our boys will fight to the very end and they’re gonna have my support until the fat Barkleys singin.

They got two days to get their minds and bodies right. As a cavs fan thats where my focus is right now. It sucks, Halliburton is almost as annoying as Tatum, but if we can at least clown on this team once on their home court. I'll be a little happier

I love watching Cavs ball. Team basketball. Beautiful basketball. The team is full of guys that seem genuinely good people (with the usual caveats that we never know the hearts of strangers etc). Worked hard all year. Two of our draft picks became All-Stars, one of them the DPOY. We did right with the coach selection, and he went on to win COTY. We saw one of our bench guys rise up to be a 6MOTY candidate. Allen was great in the Miami series and is carrying twice the responsibility in this series with Mobley off the floor. Mitchell upheld the end of his bargain: sacrificed for the regular season, rose to the occasion in the playoffs. There is no easier team to root for in the league than this.

The team is badly injured at the worst time, yes. We lost in a heartbreaking way in the second game, yes. But I've since emerged from my depression hole, aged beyond my years, and found wisdom.

In sports, we mortals have no real agency against the future, so what do we have as fans but faith? What has carried us through the perilous times, of all the heartbreaks through the decades, but faith? So even with the sudden reversal in our luck, even though we are shorthanded and the path forward looks bleak, I will have faith.

For all the happiness and hope this team has brought us throughout this season, it would be cheap to abandon them, scorn them, for not their own foibles but the capriciousness of Lady Fortune. It would show us not as men and women of this city's treacherous and intemperate climates but foolish little flowers in a greenhouse, bent at the slightest hint of a chill.

Are we not inured to the winter? Will we live like mindless apes, ignorant of history, fearing the cusp of each eclipse, never believing in the return of the sun?

Or will our faith win, and we shall say: We have endured worse. We have overcome worse. We will stand firm on this solid ground and hold our hands to the sky. We will welcome back again the warmth of spring. We will let 'em know.

In 2016 for every game of the finals we won I ate the same meal.

Half a little Caesar’s cheese pizza and 2 of their “crazy” bread sticks.

This year things have felt a bit off in the second round, so I needed a new tradition. I picked up a bottle of “Don Gato” tequila from my local liquor store. The Don is obvious. The Gato for our cat dad, Jarrett Allen.

To test it I took a shot in the first quarter of the Knicks Celtics game to give the Knicks an edge. Success.

Next, I took a shot before the Dallas Stars game (I live in Texas). Success.

I do not know the strength of this bottle, if it only works for second rounds or if it can take us all the way, but rest easy Cavs fans. I have unlocked the secret weapon. My clinically crippling sports OCD.

EDIT: I just realized. Don Gato -> DG -> Darius Garland. Garland back game 3 confirmed

Think back to the 2018 playoffs when Indiana took us to 7 and they used the lane as their personal runway games 1-6.

Ty Lue refused to play Tristan significant minutes games 1-6. Game 7, Tristan shut down the lane and played 35 min.

I realize Tristan then and now are different, but Tristan should play some meaningful minutes for defensive help if we are down Mobley, and especially if Hunter is also out.

It’s a 7 game series, the Cavs are gonna still win in 6, I can feel it in my soul

It helps me cope with our devastating loss. I'm still heartbroken and it kinda warms my heart to see people here still not giving up on the team.

May the basketball gods hear us man ...

What’s the consensus here? We rolling with the same squad as game 2? Or are the boys gonna try and suit up tomorrow? No idea what to expect tbh

(Assuming DG isn't able to play) I am very aware that I'm not a coach at any level, but if they are blitzing up that high, play Craig as he will happily burst past, sprint past the 3pt line to the basket and initiate the blender or take a late help contest and dunk it on a big. Ty is better off the bench for us. Craig has never seemed scared of the moment.

I'm just bored and I want to hear your guys' perspectives about the series now that we're 2-0 down. Do you guys think we'll come back or lose?

Im thinking Cavs in 7 if Garland comes back because hes the centerpiece of our offensive tactics , but without him I think we are really gonna struggle.

What do you guys feel?

Boston just lost for the second time against the Knicks. Okc Dropped one to Denver. I think it puts perspective on the Cavaliers. There's tough teams out there and all the top seeds and better teams are losing in the playoffs.

Check list

• See Donovan Mitchell perform at an elite level.

• Make necessary defensive adjustments to cool down the Pacers' shooting.

• Potentially get key injured players back into the lineup.

Hey guys , I’m not a cavs fan but how do you guys watch this dude play? He over dribbles and doesn’t pass and can’t score

Boston down 0-2! At least we didn’t blow a game with all of our players and at least our best player didn’t absolutely shit the bed in game 2.

Some joy for us all. Love watching the Celtics lose.

At least we were injured to hell in game two, Tatum just sucks in the playoffs.

Anyone just feeling rage and screaming fuck every five mins. That might be the most heartbreaking loss I have seen in 30 plus years as a Cleveland sports fan.

Which is to say, it's not unprecedented at all. Fuck the odds, pray to the bball gods we get some players returning and run it back. Win on Friday and suddenly 2-1 doesn't look so bad.

I'm still going to have faith in them, but man was that just a tough way to lose and go down 0-2 in the series. Just got to pull through on the road no matter what.

Just off of what we know, Mobley easily has the worst injury of the three. I wouldn't be surprised if DG and Hunter return with no Mobley. Assuming we dont have mobley for games 3 and 4, could we tie the series??

I gotta cut my losses, have our 2016 chip to hang my hat on. Ever since then all my teams incessantly kick my ass while I'm already down