McMillan led the Pacers to a 5-1 mark in April en route to the team earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Advertisement
Toronto will open at home against Milwaukee on Saturday.
Here are five reasons the Cavaliers will beat the Pacers and advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the third straight season. Irving, James and Love get most of the attention, but guard Kyle Korver off the bench will be an important part of Lue’s game plan. “We’ve got to have our mind sharp, our bodies as fresh as possible going into Game 1”.
In many ways, the Cavs are the superior team, but there is something to be said about how both teams seemed to flip roles down the stretch with IN becoming the hottest IN the East while Cleveland staggered. But right now, we can’t focus on them.
When pressed to expand upon it, all he could say was “We’re good”.
Despite losing four successive games to close out the regular season fixtures, the Cavs, who will welcome the return of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, are heavy favourites over the Pacers in Saturday’s Game 1.
At the season’s midpoint, the Cavs were 30-11.
A lot of pressure is on the Cavs to turn things around following a sluggish finish to the regular season, as their first test will be George and the Pacers. Momentum is not exactly on their side heading into the playoffs. Many are saying that come playoff time we will be forgetting all about the previous struggles from the Cavaliers, but I’m not as convinced. “That’s my job to make sure everybody in that locker room understands that we’re going to win”. And can the Cleveland Cavaliers get back to the NBA Finals? James leads in three major statistical categories: points (26.4), assists (8.7) and steals (1.2). “It’s a new season and anything can happen”. Meanwhile, the Warriors undoubtedly have the tougher road to the championship series but are still expected to go all the way in the West.
“We’ve got to go out and challenge them”, George said, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The Cavs did end the season on one positive as forward Tristan Thompson returned after missing four games with a sprained right thumb. “He nearly views me as an inspiration by coming back, really, and I’ve leaned on him to get back to this level”. “For now, it was really good”. The best thing for our team is, we want to go down the stretch and be healthy. Also, James tallied 13 triple-doubles this season, including seven since March 1. Cavs F Richard Jefferson nailed a 3-pointer with 10:57 left in the second quarter, breaking a 46:08 personal scoreless streak.
Jones took over the spot on Cleveland’s roster vacated by DeAndre Liggins, who was waived Sunday.
File- This April 10, 2017, file photo shows Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) attempting a shot against Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) and guard Goran Dragic (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, in Miami.
Advertisement
When the Cavs’ brass assessed the team’s season at the All-Star break, months before the conclusion of the season, they likely pegged late-season back-to-backs as automatic rest days. And it’s on defense where the Cavs need the most help.
