NBA Playoffs: LeBron James Still Confident Despite Shocking Loss to Pacers
LeBron James is still confident that the Cleveland Cavaliers will take the first round over the Indiana Pacers, despite their slow start. The Pacers won against the Cavs 98-80 in the Quicken Loans Arena, in what was expected to be an easy home game for the Cleveland team.
The Pacers were not only unfazed by the home crowd and the prospect of playing against the Eastern Conference defending champions, they also made a statement out of it. In a dominating first half performance, a shocking 33-14 run against the home team led by guard Victor Oladipo set the tone right from the first quarter.
Oladipo went on to score 32 points on 11 for 19 shooting, going six out of nine from the three-point range. He capped that dominant scoring performance with six rebounds, four assists and four steals, in a team effort that gave little to no room for the Cavaliers to rally back.
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The scoring of the pacers was just enough to almost make it to the three-digit mark, but even then, it's the defense that sealed the win for the visiting team. The Pacers held the Cavaliers down to 80 points, frustrating the offense of the home team to a dismal 8/34 rate from the three-point line.
All the little things the Pacers did on the court added up, letting them keep the Cavaliers playing at the pace they prefer and keeping control of the ball on both sides of the court.
"Been playing hard at both ends all year. It's just that it hasn't been magnified. It's the playoffs now ... so everybody sees it. So, it's like, it's kind of shocking to everybody," Oladipo, the outstanding player of the night, said as he explained how the team has been playing great all year even as the media and league fans have their attention elsewhere.
"We're fully aware of LeBron, we're fully aware of this team," he added.
As for LeBron James, he should be fully aware of the Pacers by now, after what happened. Even then, the league's top player is not all that worried despite the one-sided first game of the playoffs.
"I've always stayed even-keeled with the postseason," James said, according to ESPN. LeBron has put down a triple-double in the losing effort, putting in 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in the night's loss.
"I mean, I'm down 0-1 in the first round. I was down 3-1 in the Finals. So I'm the last guy to ask about how you're going to feel the next couple days," he added, likely referring to the first championship he earned for Cleveland, which they won right at the brink of losing it all to the Golden State Warriors during the 2016 season.
He went on to explain that for the guys on the team who was in the playoffs for the first time, experience will always be the best teacher. After the first game jitters, James expects his team to be "a lot more calm and a lot more precise in what we want to do."
