The hopes for the Cleveland Cavaliers title are now in a complicated situation.
Sometimes during the regular season. The Cleveland Cavaliers looked unstoppable. They won the top of the Eastern Conference in 64 matches. He then highlighted the postseason as he destroyed the Miami Heat in a sweep in the first round of four games.
But because of its dominant force, the Cavs now look suddenly vulnerable, with injuries testing the roster.
They continue to miss Darius Garland’s presence as Star Point Guard continues to suffer toe injuries.
And in their recent Game 1 loss at East Semis against the Indiana Pacers, they endured more blows as De’andre Hunter (Thumb) and Evan Mobley (ankle) were placed on the injury report.
As for the host, the opening loss of their series against the Pacers was baffling for Kenny Atkinson.
He acknowledges the natural physicality imposed by Indiana, but the Cavaliers head coach still couldn’t believe how the umpire handled and assessed the circumstances of Hunter and Mobley’s injuries.
From the eighth minute mark in the final quarter, Mobley was hobling at his left ankle after a jump hook shot, stepping into Miles Turner’s foot.
And after just a few possessions, the hunter went down hard and took his right thumb after Ben Matlin blocked the dunk. Before the rejection, the Pacers swingman was seen in a replay that he had sufficient physical contact with the sixth Cavs man who officials had not pointed out.
“I mean, Indiana deserves it (Game 1). They’re a more physical team. They say there were two plays in that game. They also gave the utmost respect to Indiana, Rick (Carlisle) and their coaches.”
“I don’t think they’re dirty plays, but I think it went through the line of physicality. That line has been talking about where it went into excess. So No. 1 is a non-call for De’andre’s layup, and I don’t know.
“And I think I’ve come to know the rules better, so I might not know the rules. He’s probably suspicious because he felt absolutely wiped out and dislocated his thumb.
“And Evan can’t remember, at about the same time, whether it was before or after (Miles) Turner competes for his two-point shot, clearly coming under him. And the shooter needs space to land, and is pushed out the balance with a kind of opinion, tweaking his ankles quite badly.
“I think you guys saw him adding up the rest of the game. There was a big push to drive him out. He wanted to stay. He’s going to be suspicious.”
Since Game 3 from the previous opening round, the Cavaliers have already been fighting Garland’s absence, which Atkinson has already claimed is serious. Today, both Hunter and Mobley could be on the sidelines.
Three are listed as suspicious to play in a must-see game 2 when the Cavs step on the Pacers 1-0.
Despite Donovan Mitchell’s superstar leadership, who made history by surpassing Michael Jordan with a special postseason feat, his wonder alone wasn’t enough to lift up this past Game 1.
This continues to apply as Cleveland is now in a challenging mode of dealing with Indiana’s deep team. And for Atkinson, he can only hope for a proper judgement for the rest of the series.
“I don’t think this is in Indiana. They have much respect for how they play. They’re guys who play hard. Miles Turner is a hard-playing guy. But the fact of the matter, I think it’s on the referee,” Atkinson added.
“And while the call may have been wrong, and perhaps I’m misinterpreting the rules, I’m having problems when there are two suspicious players in tomorrow’s game.
“I’ve never spoken about referees all year round, and I think the referees in this league are incredible and they do a great job. That was a good crew last night.