2025 NBA PLAYOFFS East Semifinals: #1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 2-0)

[BigDan245]

Between what happened last year and now this year, I'm interested in what happens if the Cavs lose tonight. Last year there really wasn't a fight to get back on the court, and now this year we shall see. Mobley not being able to move is obviously not included here. I'm talking Hunter and Garland. If those guys don't play again, I have to look at this team differently.

[azcatz11]

Wow all the Cavs are confirmed out. Unbelievable

[Admiral-Kizaru]

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Ottowa Ankle Rules

[jbk1234]

I'm really shocked that the injuries to Mobley and Hunter are as severe as it's currently told. They both stayed in the court and finished Sunday's game. Was it just adrenaline keeping them going?

Hunter did not stay on the court. He went to the locker room, likely got numbed up, and returned.

[azcatz11]

Atkinson said pacers are dirty. This is unbelievable. Nothing will be the same now

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Wow all the Cavs are confirmed out. Unbelievable

Damn. Injuries suck.

[Castle Black]

Yikes. Cavs are in real danger. Could very well be heading to Indy down 0-2.

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[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Atkinson said pacers are dirty. This is unbelievable. Nothing will be the same now

I mean, that’s silly. Just unfortunate plays.

[yoyoboy]

I think regardless of the injuries, the Cavs were going to have to go small anyways to deal with the Pacers’ pace of play and 5-out style. So starting Wade at 4 doesn’t necessarily hurt us. But unfortunately, the next move would have been to start Mobley at center. A lineup with Allen at the 5 is a lot less switchable, and the Cavs really need the creation Mobley offers in Garland’s absence. I don’t see how we go bucket for bucket with the high-powered Indiana offense unless Mitchell and Jerome go nuclear.

[The Real Dalic]

When will the Magic be able to get this weird juju the Pacers have?

[xBulletproof]

Atkinson said pacers are dirty. This is unbelievable. Nothing will be the same now

He literally said the words ... "I don't think they were dirty plays".

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

When will the Magic be able to get this weird juju the Pacers have?

Maybe see all your stars face career threatening injuries for a decade?

[jbk1234]

Great now we'll lose credit if we win this series but if we were injured nobody would give a damn

Given the fact Turner and Mathurin were the proximate cause of two of those injuries, I wouldn't expect a lot of sympathy.

I mean, that's not fair, is it?

Myles was straight up contesting a shot when Mobley's foot landed on his foot. It's not like he was trying to undercut him.

Same with Mathurin. He was making a basketball play at the ball. He wasn't trying to injure anyone. Even the refs considered the contact with his left arm marginal which is why they didn't overturn the call upon review.

Neither of those plays were intended to injure another player. If we start doing that then I could blame LeBron James for ending Danny Granger's career during our series back in 2012 (and with the series tied at 2-2). That wouldn't be fair, though, would it?

Suffice to say that I have eyes, there's tape on all of it, and I strongly disagree. The rule about not taking away a shooters landing space exists for a reason. That's what Turner did. The rule about not pushing a player in the air exists for a reason. I would note that Zarbas crew got switchec out to the Minny game tonight.

[JujitsuFlip]

Atkinson said pacers are dirty. This is unbelievable. Nothing will be the same now

No he didn't lol he specifically said they are not.

"I don't think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed a line of physicality," Atkinson said, per Cavs reporter Danny Cunningham. 

https://www.si.com/nba/cavs-hc-kenny-atkinson-calls-out-pacers-crossing-line-of-physicality-game-1

He sent the tape to the league office for a reason. You can't hit guys while they're in the air, same crap i was preaching over in the Magic/Celtics round 1 thread. Equally dangerous is not giving guys space to land. As you see 2 of those plays knocked Cavs players out for game 2 and in Mobley's case, probably the series.

[Nuntius]

I'm really shocked that the injuries to Mobley and Hunter are as severe as it's currently told. They both stayed in the court and finished Sunday's game. Was it just adrenaline keeping them going?

Hunter did not stay on the court. He went to the locker room, likely got numbed up, and returned.

Did he go to the locker room during the challenge? If yes, then I probably missed that part.

Because when play resumed after the challenge, Hunter was on the court and didn't leave until the 3:23 mark (the challenge was at the 7:44) mark and even then it was only for a short rest as he returned again at the 1:38 mark and closed out the game.

[azcatz11]

I think regardless of the injuries, the Cavs were going to have to go small anyways to deal with the Pacers’ pace of play and 5-out style. So starting Wade at 4 doesn’t necessarily hurt us. But unfortunately, the next move would have been to start Mobley at center. A lineup with Allen at the 5 is a lot less switchable, and the Cavs really need the creation Mobley offers in Garland’s absence. I don’t see how we go bucket for bucket with the high-powered Indiana offense unless Mitchell and Jerome go nuclear.

This could be a strus game

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I said it previously, but I’ll say it again: the Pacers lose these games.

Maybe they’ve grown? But the history of this squad is that they play down to bad/injured teams.

[Dadouv47]

main issue is that the odds that Garland/Mobley recover in a short period of time is very low...

[The Real Dalic]

When will the Magic be able to get this weird juju the Pacers have?

Maybe see all your stars face career threatening injuries for a decade?

You're acting as if my team hasn't had some bad tragedies as well. We lost Shaq, then Penny had major injuries, then we signed Grant Hill and he was injured for 5 and a half years of the 7 that he signed for. Then Dwight Howard requested a trade after a Finals appearance and an ECF appearance in back-to-back years, and then we've been in the trenches until just last year.

And to top it off, the Magic are always seen as a scrubby team around here, despite finishing 41-41 with major injuries to literally all of our top 4 players. The Magic could've been the Pelicans or the Sixers who also dealt with injuries and ended up the worst teams in the league, instead, they fought through it anyway.

2 years ago we were the most injured team in the league by a wide margin as well. This Magic fanbase has felt more pain than most. So we've paid our dues, it's time for some luck our way for once.

[The Real Dalic]

I said it previously, but I’ll say it again: the Pacers lose these games.

Maybe they’ve grown? But the history of this squad is that they play down to bad/injured teams.

This was not the case last season when you played Grandpa Middleton and the Bucks and then the ER Knicks.