Pacers mess around and find out in blowout loss vs Cavaliers
The Pacers were crushed by the Cavaliers without energy or rebounding.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Pacers spent much of their battle against the Cavaliers on Monday chipping into a deficit. They were down 15 points in the first quarter and were playing from behind, but by the third quarter Cleveland's lead was just eight. That's when Pascal Siakam spent several seconds defending All-NBA forward Evan Mobley with essentially perfection, and that effort forced a missed attempt.
The shot bounced off the rim and was falling toward the paint. Siakam, Jay Huff, and Ben Sheppard were near the ball. But Sheppard didn't box out and neither frontcourt player made a move toward the available rebound. Jaylon Tyson, meanwhile, was in perfect rebounding position and finished a comically-easy putback, pushing the Cavs lead back to double digits.
Both of the themes from the eventual Pacers loss are relevant to that clip – they couldn't rebound at all, yet they spent the whole game trying to catch up after a dreadful start. They messed around and lacked energy, and they found out the consequences as they trailed for the final 46:38 of the game.
Like the above possession shows, the rebounding battle was jarring. Cleveland started a big lineup with all of Jaylon Tyson, De'Andre Hunter, Dean Wade, and Evan Mobley. The Pacers answered by opening the game with Jarace Walker instead of Ben Sheppard. But that wasn't enough to change the flow of the game.
The Cavs pulled in 19 offensive rebounds, the second-most by a Pacers opponent this season and just the second time that number was more than 15. They turned those rebounds into 28 second chance points, the highest number Indiana has allowed in a game this year.
It was bad. Some Pacers players pointed to the long rebounds postgame, and that's not nothing. The first three offensive rebounds by Cleveland came off of misses that bounced out long, and there were four of those total. Two other Cavs offensive boards were just typical bad bounces that can happen in a game. No biggie, the Pacers get some of those too.
But check out these seven (includes the play from above):
Yikes! Forget technique or the location of the rebound, the Pacers have to be able to get some/all of those. The lethargic attitude toward the glass proved costly time after time – and even when the game got close (a six-point gap between the two teams with 35 seconds left in the third quarter) the Pacers couldn't get themselves active on the glass.
"We guarded them well enough, but every time they got the rebound," Siakam said postgame without even being asked about the boards. Later, he was asked about it. "We've gotta box out... we've gotta find a way to get to [the ball]. No excuse."
Early in the game, they weren't active at, well, anything. Defense felt optional. Offense was a chore with only Siakam drives and Jay Huff triples being any sort of reliable.
Tony East
The Cavs lead reached 10 in under six minutes. That edge reached 15 after 9:19 of basketball. When the final buzzer sounded, Cleveland was ahead 135-119 – aka a margin of 16. So for the final 38:41, the Pacers and Cavs were separated by one point.
Yet the Pacers' start was so bad that they rarely looked competitive, and their rebounding efforts made their comeback pushes feel fruitless. Despite an even game for over three quarters, the Pacers were blown out for loss number 17.
"We talked about how the energy wasn't right to start the game," guard Andrew Nembhard said postgame. "We just didn't come out with the right force to start the game and we were just behind the eight ball all game."
It was a painful game to lose after the Pacers built some momentum over the weekend. They'll need more energy when Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are in town on Wednesday.
Other important notes from Pacers-Cavs
Garrison Mathews, hello
Garrison Mathews signed a second 10-day hardship contract with the Pacers just before the game, and many fans asked me why. He wasn't effective on his first 10-day pact, the question was totally fair – Mathews shot 2/13 (all on threes) and struggled with defense. His impact wasn't felt.
The answer to fan's questions became clear on the court. Mathews was great against the Cavaliers, hitting all three of his outside shots and getting to the foul line for nine attempts. Just six of them dropped, but that still totalled 15 points. He had more points at halftime (10) than he did on his first 10-day deal total (nine).
Perhaps I have my "this guy made shots" colored glasses on, but Mathews' defense felt a little better, too. He at least knows his teammates and the scheme better than he did on his first contract, and I wrote when I reported on the signing that "better performances should be expected" from Mathews.
Sometimes, I turn out to be right. "I was just fortunate to knock some down tonight." Mathews said. "It was frustrating to start out. I didn't want to start out the way I did. But as long as I can keep it going and stay consistent, stay confident, then you know I'll be alright."
Before the game, head coach Rick Carlisle praised Mathews' gravity and said that the stats will take care of themselves. That, too, turned out to be prescient. Mathews three-point percentage for the Pacers climbed from 15.4% before the game to 31.3% now. The Pacers will of course hope this holds as they rank last in the league in three-point percentage.
T.J. McConnell meets general soreness
T.J. McConnell entered Monday having played at least 11.5 minutes in all of his appearances this season. In the first quarter, he checked into the game with 6:03 to go.
With seven seconds left in that frame, he left the game for what felt like a routine end-of-quarter offensive substitution. But he never returned, logging just 5:56 of action in the loss. He finished with four points and one assist.
Given how this season has gone for the Pacers, fans feared the worst. Carlisle calmed some nerves after the game when explaining the situation.
"The hope is he'll be ready for Wednesday. There's no injury or anything like that," Carlisle said. The explanation: McConnell, after playing in the Pacers back-to-back over the weekend (his first of the season), was experiencing some soreness after the games. He warmed up before Pacers-Cavs and felt okay, but after his first stint he didn't look like himself and Carlisle pulled the plug.
The latest injury report for Pacers-Nuggets on Wednesday doesn't list McConnell at all. So, that's good news overall. But his absence was felt in Pacers-Cavs. When he's back on the court, he'll be needed for energy – something the Pacers lacked in their most recent loss.
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