Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Mother’s Day massacre says more about the Pacers than the victimized Cavaliers

The Pacers took a gigantic 3-1 lead in the series as they shamed the first-seeded Cavaliers by 20 and at one point led by 44. They flexed most of their powers as they sensed weakness in their opponent, leaving them with an indelible nightmare. Keep in mind that a 3-1 comeback has been completed only 13 times in NBA history. The Nuggets were the last to do it in consecutive series in the 2020 bubble.

That didn’t stop Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert from trying to channel the spirit of their past championship team on his X(formerly Twitter) account: “Hey @cavs fans… yes it was an ugly one, but we’ve been here before. Time to get 3 in a row, 2 of them coming at home. Let’s start with Game 5 on Tuesday. #Believeland”

The hosts of the Gainbridge madhouse didn’t even need Bennedict Mathurin, one of their top bench players of the series, who got ejected for swiping at De’Andre Hunter over seven minutes into the game. Obi Toppin was the go-to reserve, tattooing 20 points on 64% shooting on Cleveland before the fourth quarter. 

The Cavaliers were a -390 favorite on DraftKings and -550 on FanDuel before the series started. They won 64 regular season matches and destroyed the Heat by a combined 122 points in a sweep in round one. Yet their injuries soured the season. They were dangerous in the first three games primarily because Donovan Mitchell is having an epic playoff run. He hurt his ankle during halftime warmups and didn’t play the second half of Game 4. 

As the series shifts to back to Cleveland for Game 5, the Cavaliers are likely as finished as a medieval prisoner headed for the chopping block. And how can they not be mentally shattered? They’ve been getting physically pounded all series, the Game 2 loss was one of the worst in franchise history in spite of the absences to Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Hunter, and the latest beat down had them dazed and confused like a prime Deontay Wilder right hand to the dome.

The Pacers are a threat to win it all because they understand better than any team that the pass is way more effective than dribbling to move the ball. They log the most passes in the playoffs and 23.4 more than the second team, which is the Warriors. 

Indiana has a great squad- athleticism, size and speed- around an unselfish superstar who can hit big-time shots. Tyrese Haliburton hunted Jarrett Allen at the end of Game 1 and buried the winning shot in his face with a step-back trey two nights later. At least four Pacers are shooting a minimum of 44% on playoff 3-pointers and six are averaging double-figure scoring. Nikola Jokić must be watching, wishing and wondering how the Nuggets could have a bench like theirs. And Pat Riley can’t help but notice how far off the Heatles are from Eastern contention. 

The Pacers are on the verge of consecutive Eastern Conference Finals trips and have replaced the Heat following the 2023 playoffs as the conference’s top culture because they maximize talent and can win as the underdog. Still, coach Rick Carlisle said his team hadn’t done anything yet and would “keep approaching this like we have everything to prove. We know people don’t believe in us…” 

Haliburton said the team can be counted on to respond the right way. He’s correct. How many more times do they have to prove it?