The Indiana Pacers took a 1-0 lead in surprisingly easy fashion with a 98-80 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday. The Pacers looked ready for the moment, and the Cavs looked out of sorts. Indiana led 33-14 at the end of the first quarter, and the Cavs could never recovery.
So, why did Cleveland perform so poorly out of the playoff gates? LeBron James has a theory—the team's tumultuous regular season left them unprepared for the postseason.
"I think we spent so much time trying to figure out who we were in the regular season and getting the right lineups and guys in and out and things of that nature, we could never build for the playoffs," LeBron said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It was kind of like, build for the next game. So the postseason finally hit us and it hit us very well. And I think that can be the best teacher for us to know exactly what we should be ready for tonight."
The Cavs were playing their best basketball of the season heading into the playoffs. After a dramatic start to the season, fueled by infighting between Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Love, and others on the team, new General Manager Koby Altman pulled off Extreme Makeover: Roster Edition at the trade deadline. The Cavs sent Isaiah to the Lakers and shipped out veterans Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, and Iman Shumpert to receive George Hill, Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and Rodney Hood.
Hood was excused from shootaround, but he is expected to play Wednesday.
The Cavs say Rodney Hood was excused from shootaround for personal reasons. He’s expected to be at the game and play in Game 2.
Game Two of the series is set for 7 p.m. EST at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
