This wasn’t an especially close second-round series from the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Indiana Pacers. Donovan Mitchell did some incredible things, and at certain points the games were well-contested, but Indiana took it in just five games. They just appeared to be the better team.
“What went wrong?” some might ask. You know, instead of giving credit to the Pacers for hitting tough shots and pushing hard in fourth quarters, it becomes, “What did we do wrong?”
It might not be about that. Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De’Andre Hunter all missed Game 2 — an unsurprising loss. That put them down 2-0 in the series heading back to Indiana. If these players wanted to keep their season alive, they had to play. Who knows how healthy they were?
Plus, this is a new thing for Kenny Atkinson as well. Prior to this round, Atkinson has had only two playoff rounds of head coaching experience. One was a 1-4 first round exit with an undermanned Nets team against the 76ers in 2019. The next was that first round sweep from a couple of weeks ago. He needs time to grow as well.
How do we fix the Cavs? What do we change?
I would like to meekly suggest … don’t change anything? Last year, rumors swirled throughout the offseason about trading Allen or Garland to give the Cavs a more typical look among modern NBA teams. They stuck to their roster, made some tweaks, put in a new coach, and ran it back. They were better. Much better. Just not good enough. That doesn’t mean they can’t be.
I would also like to make the case for longevity. It’s very rare nowadays for a fan base to watch a contender with a solid cast for more than a couple of years at a time. The Cavaliers already have the top-end talent (though lacking a true MVP candidate) to be one of the best in the league. Being able to go through the low points as a fan to hit the high ones is kind of the most basic sports story there is.
They’re still improving. They’re still learning. Unless the Cavs can identify an immediate upgrade or think they have some irredeemable flaw with their current makeup, I’d rather just root for the team from this year to give it another shot next year, as healthy as they can be. It’d just be more fun.
Remember what Nico Harrison said, “The easiest thing for me to do would be nothing.” Then he went and did something, and he was stupid. Maybe don’t open the Nico door.