2025 NBA PLAYOFFS East Semifinals: #1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 1-0)

[California Gold]

Game 1 was a surprise. But I don’t think it’s going to dictate the series necessarily. Cavs still have to prove to get over the hump of the 2nd round, but if they have the team to do it it’s this one. I expect a blowout response in game 2 from Cleveland. Still taking Cavs here in the series as they are the more talented, well rounded team of the 2.

[Wizop]

Nembhard is a great player, incredible glue, he seems to be one of those players who also raises his game in the Playoffs (or so I suppose, since I only see the Pacers in the Playoffs and last year he was already great, if he played like that in the regular season would he have more recognition? Or is it because he plays in Indiana?) He looks like a role player, has the impact of a star.

He was Eastern Conference Defensive Player of The Month in January so he isn't without recognition

[GiannisAnte34]

Well according to the last series the Bucks chances were unchanged by Lillards injury or absence in game 1. Just going off of what some Pacers fans said. So ofc Garland being out would also be a net neutral

That would obviously be a silly thing to say. I don’t know the context or who said it because I just pop in and out when I can. But obviously Lillard missing would make a difference just like Garland sitting makes a difference. But also…. The series has been over a week, maybe just let it go?

He's talking about me. The Bucks weren't going to be much of a threat to the Pacers either way. They were 32-26 with Dame and similar without. 35 year old Dame isn't changing much at this point in his career. People still treat his name like he's his 25 year old self. He's clearly offended I said it, it's like the 10th time he's brought it up where it doesn't belong

Then when I say he believes Dame would have changed the series, he says I'm saying something he never said I compared it to saying Haliburton would have made a difference against the Celtics last year, when he wouldn't have. The Celtics were just that much better.

you’re one of those people that will never admit they said something foolish even when your own ilk calls you out on it. Dame is still a really good player and to suggest that his absence does nothing to hinder the Bucks is equally asinine to people saying the Cavs are better without Garland

[xBulletproof]

you’re one of those people that will never admit they said something foolish even when your own ilk calls you out on it. Dame is still a really good player and to suggest that his absence does nothing to hinder the Bucks is equally asinine to people saying the Cavs are better without Garland

Dame wasn't a difference maker last year either. They were 1-3 in the series against the Pacers when he played and 1-1 when he didn't. The regular season record this year was pretty much the same result. He's old.

And yes I do not care who disagrees with me, even if they're 'my ilk'. They can be wrong too.

[GiannisAnte34]

you’re one of those people that will never admit they said something foolish even when your own ilk calls you out on it. Dame is still a really good player and to suggest that his absence does nothing to hinder the Bucks is equally asinine to people saying the Cavs are better without Garland

Dame wasn't a difference maker last year either. They were 1-3 in the series against the Pacers when he played and 1-1 when he didn't. The regular season record this year was pretty much the same result. He's old.

And yes I do not care who disagrees with me, even if they're 'my ilk'. They can be wrong too.

There’s no talking to someone as delusional as you are. You’re quoting Dames record when Giannis missed the whole series and Dame himself was injured mid series

[xBulletproof]

you’re one of those people that will never admit they said something foolish even when your own ilk calls you out on it. Dame is still a really good player and to suggest that his absence does nothing to hinder the Bucks is equally asinine to people saying the Cavs are better without Garland

Dame wasn't a difference maker last year either. They were 1-3 in the series against the Pacers when he played and 1-1 when he didn't. The regular season record this year was pretty much the same result. He's old.

And yes I do not care who disagrees with me, even if they're 'my ilk'. They can be wrong too.

There’s no talking to someone as delusional as you are. You’re quoting Dames record when Giannis and Middleton were injured? What a joke

And the regular season. Basically the entire time Dame has been in Milwaukee.

But we'll just ignore all of that and only concentrate on the games where someone was injured to make an excuse. And I'm delusional. Cool

Either way, sorry to everyone else. He's OBSESSED with having this conversation here where it's not relevant. I've even quoted and moved the convo to the Pacers and Bucks thread, but he didn't want to have the convo where it belongs. I'll 100% ignore him going forward.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

you’re one of those people that will never admit they said something foolish even when your own ilk calls you out on it. Dame is still a really good player and to suggest that his absence does nothing to hinder the Bucks is equally asinine to people saying the Cavs are better without Garland

Dame wasn't a difference maker last year either. They were 1-3 in the series against the Pacers when he played and 1-1 when he didn't. The regular season record this year was pretty much the same result. He's old.

And yes I do not care who disagrees with me, even if they're 'my ilk'. They can be wrong too.

There’s no talking to someone as delusional as you are. You’re quoting Dames record when Giannis missed the whole series and Dame himself was injured mid series

Says the guy who thought the Bucks were going to smoke the Pacers.

Listen man, it’s clear you want to talk about the Bucks. I get it, you’re a Bucks fan…but go make a Bucks thread and talk Bucks with all the people that want to. We’re all tired of you trying to turn every conversation in this thread into something about the Bucks.

Your season is over.

If you wanna talk about this series, great, but just leave the Bucks out of it. It’s getting ridiculous.

[GiannisAnte34]

Dame wasn't a difference maker last year either. They were 1-3 in the series against the Pacers when he played and 1-1 when he didn't. The regular season record this year was pretty much the same result. He's old.

And yes I do not care who disagrees with me, even if they're 'my ilk'. They can be wrong too.

There’s no talking to someone as delusional as you are. You’re quoting Dames record when Giannis and Middleton were injured? What a joke

And the regular season. Basically the entire time Dame has been in Milwaukee.

But we'll just ignore all of that and only concentrate on the games where someone was injured to make an excuse. And I'm delusional. Cool

Either way, sorry to everyone else. He's OBSESSED with having this conversation here where it's not relevant. I've even quoted and moved the convo to the Pacers and Bucks thread, but he didn't want to have the convo where it belongs. I'll 100% ignore him going forward.

Giannis misses the series but hey that context is just an excuse to Dame's record against the Pacers. I wonder if you really believe your own BS

[GiannisAnte34]

Dame wasn't a difference maker last year either. They were 1-3 in the series against the Pacers when he played and 1-1 when he didn't. The regular season record this year was pretty much the same result. He's old.

And yes I do not care who disagrees with me, even if they're 'my ilk'. They can be wrong too.

There’s no talking to someone as delusional as you are. You’re quoting Dames record when Giannis missed the whole series and Dame himself was injured mid series

Says the guy who thought the Bucks were going to smoke the Pacers.

Listen man, it’s clear you want to talk about the Bucks. I get it, you’re a Bucks fan…but go make a Bucks thread and talk Bucks with all the people that want to. We’re all tired of you trying to turn every conversation in this thread into something about the Bucks.

Your season is over.

If you wanna talk about this series, great, but just leave the Bucks out of it. It’s getting ridiculous.

It's commonplace everywhere on this board for people to comment on adjacent topics. Garland being out hurt the Cavs chances to win game 1

[xBulletproof]

Says the guy who thought the Bucks were going to smoke the Pacers.

Listen man, it’s clear you want to talk about the Bucks. I get it, you’re a Bucks fan…but go make a Bucks thread and talk Bucks with all the people that want to. We’re all tired of you trying to turn every conversation in this thread into something about the Bucks.

Your season is over.

If you wanna talk about this series, great, but just leave the Bucks out of it. It’s getting ridiculous.

He's like the Bucks version of Vnzla. Without the awareness or decency to stay on their own board. Only Pacers fans from a specific board will get the reference.

Been here 12 years, first time I've ever used the ignore function.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Says the guy who thought the Bucks were going to smoke the Pacers.

Listen man, it’s clear you want to talk about the Bucks. I get it, you’re a Bucks fan…but go make a Bucks thread and talk Bucks with all the people that want to. We’re all tired of you trying to turn every conversation in this thread into something about the Bucks.

Your season is over.

If you wanna talk about this series, great, but just leave the Bucks out of it. It’s getting ridiculous.

He's like the Bucks version of Vnzla. Without the awareness or decency to stay on their own board. Only Pacers fans from a specific board will get the reference.

Been here 12 years, first time I've ever used the ignore function.

Broooooo

He’s not nearly that bad…but maybe that’s just because I haven’t seen him doing this every day for 15 years…*gulp*, maybe you’re into something with ignore.

[GiannisAnte34]

luck and health play a huge role in the playoffs especially when the margins are thin. Cavs will need Garland to win this series, what's his timetable look like? Cavs defensively looked lost last night, they were too spoiled by a non-competitive 1st round I think

[Optms]

Been calling it all year. Cavs gonna get bounced in the 2nd round.

Crazy how right that prediction looks now.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Been calling it all year. Cavs gonna get bounced in the 2nd round.

Crazy how right that prediction looks now.

Well again, one game means nothing. Cavs are still very much the favorite.

[Deivork]

While the discussions here seem deep and good, I find this forum system a bit hard to follow for long topics such a 7-game series. Many dialogues intertwined, lots of scrolling. Do non-writing people actually read more than 5 pages at once? Let alone 30 or 40.

A system like reddit, where convos are grouped would save us a lot of time and skimming through.

[Wizop]

While the discussions here seem deep and good, I find this forum system a bit hard to follow for long topics such a 7-game series. Many dialogues intertwined, lots of scrolling. Do non-writing people actually read more than 5 pages at once? Let alone 30 or 40.

A system like reddit, where convos are grouped would save us a lot of time and skimming through.

That's really way above the moderators' pay grade. What they can do if people want it is create separate threads for each game but that might not solve your problem. You could check the Cavs and Pacer forums if you are a fan on one team or the other as they may have much shorter threads. I know the Pacer forum does as we're a pretty quiet bunch.

[Hoop Hunter]

While the discussions here seem deep and good, I find this forum system a bit hard to follow for long topics such a 7-game series. Many dialogues intertwined, lots of scrolling. Do non-writing people actually read more than 5 pages at once? Let alone 30 or 40.

A system like reddit, where convos are grouped would save us a lot of time and skimming through.

I hate the reddit system. I like it here much better.

The really long threads can be tough though. I like when they start a new thread for each game. Either way I like this format better.

[Hoop Hunter]

In game 1 we shot the ball extremely well from 3. Our defense was pretty good for the most part, really good down the stretch. We let Mitchell drive to the rim to much, he'll probably shoot the 3 better next game. Gotta be happy he took 30 shots to get 33 points.

Rebounding was adequate, dead even. I figured the Cavs would rebound better than us. So staying even was good.

The turnovers were very bad, 17. We usually don't turn the ball that much.

Overall not much to complain about. Game 2 could be totally different.

The Cavs will have their backs against the wall. It's pretty much a must win for them and they are a great team.

I hope we are not satisfied with a split in the first 2.

[BigDan245]

Mobley, Hunter, and Garland are all questionable. The curse of the Pacers lives.

[JujitsuFlip]

Add the two halftime scores and reduce total to next lower multiple of ten and that's the first two number for the game.

I think the Pacers will score over 130 in some of these games. Nembhard and Haliburton will just shoot over Garland if he comes back. I'm not sure if Mitchell can hold up in a track meet for 7 games.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

Mitch 100% cannot, guy clutched at that left ankle 2 or 3 times after being fouled last night. Garland obviously missed his 3rd playoff game in a row.

This is the Cavs 4th post season appearance in a row and health has been an issue every single time. If they're not healthy when it counts who cares if you win 44, 51, 48, or 64 regular season games.

And the hits keep coming...

Mobley hurt his ankle in game 1, he is questionable for tomorrow. Hunter dislocated his thumb on his shooting hand in game 1, he also carries a questionable tag for tomorrow. Garland is still questionable with his big toe sprain.