LeBron feels Cavs close to ‘turning the switch’

LeBron James (25 points), Kyrie Irving (37) and Kevin Love (25) combined for 89 points as the Cavs took Game 2 on Monday night.

TYRONN LUE, Cleveland Cavaliers coach, bemoaning his team’s habit of continuing to concede points in the fourth quarters of games.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (23) drive against Indiana Pacers’ Paul George (13) in the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Monday, April 17, 2017, in Cleveland. That kind of lackluster defense on the perimeter is costing the Pacers big time.

Basically, the Pacers guarding the Cavaliers are like a boat taking on water.

Looking past the smoke and mirrors, Cleveland allowed IN to shoot 52% from the field and 40% from the three-point line – numbers expected from the league’s ninth-worst defense. Especially when they’re coming off just them advancing the ball up.

The Pacers closed out fairly well on the initial passes back out to the perimeter.

Losing the first two in Cleveland should come as no surprise. I think Lue should play Korver with the starters while pairing Shumpert with Channing Frye when he comes on in relief of Thompson.

Despite a fortunate miss at the buzzer and constant lulls late in games, the Cleveland Cavaliers are up two games to none on the Indiana Pacers as this series heads to The Fieldhouse for the first time on Thursday night.

But Love knocked down two free throws and C.J. Miles was whistled for an offensive foul, thwarting the Pacers’ comeback.

Irving led the way with 37 (11 of which came in the fourth quarter).

CLEVELAND – After another excruciating loss in which the Indiana Pacers almost came all the way back from a late double-digit deficit before succumbing to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paul George had blunt criticism for more of his teammates. Instead of swift perimeter ball movement, the Cavs were passing the ball, if at all, very late in the shot clock. And if they can’t dig themselves out of an 0-2 deficit when the first-round series resumes in Indianapolis on Thursday night, George and in will be facing an elimination game Sunday. Even worse, since the all-star break – a span of 27 games, in which the Cavaliers have gone 12-15 – they’ve been 29th, finishing just one tenth of a point ahead of the horrendous, tanking Lakers to avoid being the worst defensive team in the league over that stretch. Calling out screens and recognizing plays (which will naturally happen more frequently as the series progresses) will help mask some of the matchup problems the Pacers have.

However, Cleveland quashed the Pacers fightback at the start of the third quarter, reeling off a 7-0 run to lead by 12 points at 70-58.

There was little attention to detail.

Twice, Indiana had chances to beat defending champion Cleveland on its home court. “We’ve just got to be better with the basketball”. His Game 2 comments, if better left unsaid, were indisputable on the merits, as Stephenson’s unpredictability clearly played a role in a circuitous journey that saw him play for five different teams between the end of the 2013-2014 season and his return to in in March.