CLEVELAND – The playoffs are lovely, dark and deep. But the Cleveland Cavaliers
have promises to keep. And miles to go before they sweep, and miles to go before
they repeat.
Besides the apologies offered up here to Robert Frost, it should be noted the
connection between the Cavaliers’ metaphoric miles and Indiana’s C.J. Miles is
merely coincidental. Then again, nothing would have driven home the point more
about Cleveland’s need to improve its play in an array of areas than if Miles’
jump shot from the left wing had dropped through the rim with one second left,
rather than bounding off as time ran out at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday
afternoon.
That slim margin, had it flipped Cleveland’s 109-108 victory into a one-point
stunner at home in Game 1 of its first-round Eastern Conference series, would
have brought 48 hours (at least) of drama, second-guessing and overwrought
fretting about, “What’s wrong with the Cavs?” It’s a question that’s been in
play for much of the past two months, one around which LeBron James, Kyrie
Irving, coach Tyronn Lue and the rest of them tiptoed afterward.
“It’s a long journey. We understand that,” Irving said. “We don’t take any
possession for granted. Tonight, was just a lot of mistakes on our end. A lot of
50/50 balls that should have been in our hands. Fewer rebounds kicked out of
bounds. Those are things we can correct. We just have to take it game by game.
We understand that. We have a veteran group.”
It’s a group largely intact from the team that dug itself into, and then out of,
a 3-1 hole in last June’s Finals against Golden State. It’s also the group that
went 11-15 after the trade deadline, an ordinary 25-24 since Jan. 2, and played
defense in a manner befitting the dregs of the league.
The Cavaliers have been alternating between denial and introspection for weeks.
‘Fessing up in a given moment to how much better they need to be playing as the
postseason competition gets dialed up, reassuring themselves if not others of
their capacity to find and flip their playoff switch.
That duality was still in play Saturday. Cleveland surely was pleased with about
shooting 54 percent against the Pacers, nearly 40 percent from 3-point range and
the work its players put in at both ends during a 10-0 stretch in the third
quarter that pushed its lead to a game-best 12 points.
Cleveland was not so pleased that it frittered away that lead, despite Indiana
star Paul George making just one bucket in the fourth quarter. Or that it
managed just 17 points in that final period. Or that it fell behind 105-103 with
3:31 left … at home … against the East’s No. 7 seed. The Cavs certainly had
to flinch over Indiana’s 11-of-24 shooting from the arc, along with the nearly
fatal 13 free throws they missed.
“I’m happy we got the victory,” James said after scoring 32 points and, with 13
assists, generating a bunch more – each one essential. “I’m happy how emotional
we were. I’m happy with the energy and the effort.”
So much attention heading into this series had focused on the Cavaliers’
readiness – could they flip the switch? – that you might have thought they were
as simple as a kitchen appliance. Plug in the refrigerator, it runs, done.
The reality is that an NBA team, especially a title-worthy one, is more like the
cockpit of a jet airliner. Switches, buttons, dials and levers galore. So while
the Cavs may have found the emotional pitch they needed, they toggled from good
to bad defensively. Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith shot a combined 4-of-18 on
3-pointers and Kyle Korver’s only field goal attempt was a two. Cleveland got
outworked on the glass all game and out-hustled on the floor often enough that
it stuck in Lue’s craw.
“Overall defensively, we were pretty good, just outside of the loose balls that
they got,” Lue said. “Offensive rebounds, put-backs. The 50/50 balls we didn’t
get to, they scored on. Y’know, just clean those things up, it’d be a different
game. Eleven turnovers for 19 points and then missing 13 free throws wasn’t good
for us. We found a way to win the game, but we’ll be better.”
Lots of athletes and teams can live and take refuge in a binary world – who won,
who lost? – but a defending champion that strays so from its peak performance is
bound to get judged on style points. If the Cavaliers admit their play isn’t
where it needs to be, the teams hoping to unseat them – the Celtics, the
Raptors, the Wizards and right now the Pacers – can’t help but gain confidence.
“It doesn’t mean that we believe it,” Irving said, a little defensively. “I’ve
never said that. I’ve understand there are things that we can correct going
forward. … I don’t know exactly what you’re trying to ask. I don’t know if I
can answer it.”
Are the Cavaliers vulnerable?
“Oh, if we feel vulnerable? Oh no. No,” Cleveland’s point guard said. “Not going
into any game, with the group that we have. I understand there are some mistakes
that happen throughout the game. The regular season didn’t end the way we want
it to. But like I said, this is a step in the right direction.”
And still it came down to a make-or-miss by Miles, once James and Smith forced
the ball from George’s hands by double-teaming on the final possession. Imagine
the wailing if that ball …
“I don’t know. There’s no way you can really answer that question,” James said,
rejecting the hypothetical after running his streak of first-round victories to
18. “If I didn’t get the block [late in Game 7] last year in the Finals. If
Kyrie didn’t make the three. If Steph [Curry] would have made the three. There’s
so many … you can’t look at a game like that. He missed. We won.”
Miles to go, though. Miles to go.
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here,
find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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