Cavs' playoff run ends in heartbreak as Pacers expose fatal flaws
👋 Sam here, reporting at 10pm Tuesday from my tear-stained home office. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs, vanquished by a pack of demon hellcats out of Indianapolis who evidently cannot miss.
Final score: 114-105.
Why it matters: This stinks.
The big picture: It wasn't supposed to end like this. The Cavs were the best team in the Eastern Conference all year!
A historically potent offense; the defensive player of the year in Evan Mobley; the coach of the year in Kenny Atkinson; a well-rested superstar on a mission in Donovan Mitchell.
State of play: None of it mattered. The playoffs are a torture chamber, and the Indiana Pacers surgically exposed the team's physical and psychological frailties.
One sensed the Cavs' spirits breaking alongside their bodies when Tyrese Haliburton snatched Game 2 with an impossible three-pointer after a missed free throw.
The Cavs' Game 3 victory was, in retrospect, a last gasp — a death spasm.
The latest: The Cavs were ghosts in game 4 and couldn't make a shot in game 5, despite a noble effort.
What's next: Self-reflection always follows a disappointing postseason.
Cleveland's front office will be faced with some emotional roster decisions this summer.
Thanks to Evan Mobley's maximum contract extension and De'Andre Hunter's salary, the team is now one of the most expensive in the NBA.
Yes, but: For now, I'm left with five key takeaways.
In today's NBA, advancing deep in the postseason (and doing so consistently) requires not only roster depth and versatility, but health and matchup luck.
It sure makes one appreciate the second LeBron James tour in Cleveland, when annual trips to the NBA Finals were a foregone conclusion. That's not normal.
The current Cavs are lovable guys and phenomenal athletes, but something about the toughness of the playoffs has thrown them off-kilter for the past three seasons.
There are no more excuses. They will be disregarded as legitimate contenders until they prove otherwise.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is not walking through that door. A bidding war for one of the league's most dominant players will likely soon commence, but the Cavs don't have the tradeable draft assets or financial flexibility to make a competitive offer.
Nevertheless, this team and this season were special. Despite the crushing outcome, I'm reminding myself that these guys have given me some of the most fun I've had as a Cavs fan in my adult life.
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