The 2025 NBA playoffs put pressure on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the blink of an eye, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ impressive season is on the brink of an unfortunate ending.
Health is currently a major disadvantage for the Cavaliers, with three key players missing out on their latest defeat.
Darius Garland has been nursing toe complications since his opening match against the Miami Heat.
Meanwhile, Evan Mobley (ankle) and DeAndre Hunter (wrist) were injured in a West Semis matchup with the Indiana Pacers, who left head coach Kenny Atkinson’s smoke.
As a result, the Cavs found themselves in a problematic place as they were unable to defend Home Court 0-2, losing Game 2 overwhelmingly from the three who won the match for Tyrese Haliburton.
With Garland, Mobley and Hunter coming out of the court, Donovan Mitchell has a strong load in leading Cleveland.
After making history with the series’ opener, he tied up a special postseason feat with Michael Jordan, and the Cavaliers superstar followed suit with a 48-point game two explosion.
But in the end, his great hero wasn’t enough. And this is even more troubling due to the fact that Mitchell himself admitted to dealing with his own important injuries.
A victory in Game 2 would have been suitable for Mitchell’s efforts to be rewarded. But in the end they collapsed during crunch time and endured a 120-119 defeat.
For Channing Frye, if Jarrett Allen had stretched against the Pacers, the Cavaliers could have been in a much better position now.
“I feel Jarrett Allen disappearing at the end of the game,” the former NBA veteran told The Road Trippin’ Podcast.
“Jarrett Allen was an All-Star, whether it was a block, a rebound, something. I feel like he’s not visible at the end of the game, where we see Mitchell Robinson, Karl Anthonytowns, Miles Turner and Pascal Siakam.”
“Whether it’s a tip out or a block, or I’m going to some sort of play you don’t need to score, I obviously go to Donovan Mitchell or Ty Halliburton, so last night I saw Miles Turner compete on the rim, he hit the big three… he did what I went to ‘Yeah’.
“He’s still active. I don’t know if he’s seen it from the big Cleveland other than Evan Mobley.”
With Mitchell’s co-star still on, Jarrett Allen contributed to the Cavs in Game 2, finishing 22 points, 12 boards, three assists and three blocks in 38 minutes, shooting 7 for 7 from the field.
Without a Mobley frontcourt partner, Allen would have been forced to secure the Cavaliers interior on his own.
However, when Indiana threw on the success of the late-game offense, Starbigman struggled to defend his role in defending the Rim and juggling his main missions with both Pascalcia Cam and Miles Turner.
Atkinson already challenges Allen to take the “most difficult” before the series increases workload and plays the Pacers, and the center appears to be totally overwhelmed.
This message reveals that the rest of the Cavaliers will need to step up to get on the board in this second round with the Pacers.
Tygerome struggled especially in Game 2. After a game one play of 21 points, he finished with a terrible 2 points with a 14th shooting in 28 minutes in Game 2 loss.
It is still unclear whether Garland, Mobley and Hunter are ready to go to Game 3 on May 9th, but Cleveland clearly needs decks with all hands to maintain title hopes.