Lebron. Game 7. Buckle Up
Out of all the things I expected, the Cavs getting blown out by 30+ points sure wasn’t one of them. You give Lebron a chance to close you out, especially after how Game 5 ended, and I expected a much more competitive game. Then I remember that the Pacers have outplayed the Cavs essentially every time they’ve played this entire season. For whatever reason, they give CLE the most trouble. You can tell by the way they play too, does Oladipo look scared? Did Lance look intimidated? They played CLE with the type of swagger we usually see from Lebron in these elimination games.
After really struggling the past few games, Oladipo showed up when it mattered most with his 28/13/10 on 11-19, that’s pretty decent I suppose.
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As a team the Pacers offense was about as perfect as you could want, finishing with 56/50% split, 15 3PM, and just 7 TOs. That’s a beatdown like you read about. Seven guys in double figures, another HUGE 19/6 on 9-11 from Sabonis. this game was close after the first quarter but the Pacers never lost a quarter, and by halftime it was already a double digit lead. The Pacers followed that up by dropping 62 points in the final 24 minutes.
Which means that there will be another Game 7 in the Eastern Conference first round. If you’re a Pacers fan. you’re confident because you’ve already won on that floor. You’ve now beaten this Cavs team 6 out of the 10 times you’ve played. There is no reason why the Pacers couldn’t win this game. If you’re a Cavs fan, you aren’t even remotely sweating because you know Lebron is going to have an outrageous Game 7. You know he’s going to live at the line whenever he wants. There is no better feeling then having the best player on the planet in a Game 7 at home.
But at the same time, you’re a little nervous. Game 7 could be the last playoff game for this franchise for a loooooooong time if they lose and then Lebron bounces this summer. Hell he may bounce anyway after clearly having to exert the most energy of his career in a first round series. Either way, it’s going to be must watch stuff.