The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Indiana Pacers in a winner-take-all Game 7, while the Rockets and Jazz kick off the second-round in Houston. Follow along here for the latest analysis and commentary from The Post’s NBA reporter Tim Bontemps, and ask him questions in the comments section. Catch up with Saturday’s results here.
Schedule and results | Pregame reading | Comments section Q&A
It looks like LeBron James is planning to play all 48 minutes of Game 7.
That could be a problem – for Cleveland.
Why? Because for as much work as James puts into his body, playing 48 high-intensity minutes 36 hours after Game 6 is a bad idea.
It would’ve been smarter for him and the Cavaliers to sit him at the start of the second quarter when Cleveland had a 14-point lead. Instead, it kept James in as the Pacers managed to cut the lead to as little as four.
Cleveland has pushed the lead back to 12 thanks to more exemplary play from James. But if he’s having exert this much for 48 minutes, the Cavaliers had better hope this game doesn’t get back down close at the end – or else James may not have enough energy to pull it out of the fire.
LeBron James has come out on a mission to win this Game 7. Victor Oladipo hasn’t shown up.
That, in a nutshell, is what happened in the first quarter, as the Cleveland Cavaliers jumped out to a 31-19 lead. James is 5-for-5 and had 13 points in the first quarter, while Oladipo went 0-for-4 and was a game-worst minus-13.
Even more importantly for the Cavaliers? They committed no turnovers in the first quarter, which often is a bugaboo when James plays point guard, as he is today.
The way James is playing, though, they may not have a turnover the entire game at this rate.
In the game that could define not just Cleveland’s season but the future of the franchise, Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue is in “ride or die” mode.
By starting Tristan Thompson at center, and deploying LeBron James at point guard, Lue is leaning heavily on the players who have been through the wars with him in the past – and not on the new faces Cleveland has imported over the past year.
Early on, the Pacers have been trying to get isolations against Kevin Love, but haven’t been able to take advantage of them. Cleveland, meanwhile, has already had LeBron James barrel into the lane twice for layups and hit Love for a corner three to make it 9-2 Cavaliers early on.
CLEVELAND — The focal point of everyone’s attention here today will be on LeBron James. In what could be his final game in Cleveland, there will be scrutiny on every movement James makes and every word he says if this marks the end of the Cavaliers’ season.
Whether today’s Game 7 does result in the end of Cleveland’s season, though, has less to do with what James does than it does with the play of Victor Oladipo.
The truth is that Indiana has been the better team in this series by a significant margin, and that has been the case despite Oladipo’s inconsistency from game-to-game. Perfect example: After going 12-for-50 in Games 3, 4 and 5, he had a triple-double in Game 6.
If Oladipo just isn’t awful in Game 7, the Pacers should win the game. Indiana has arguably been the better team in all six games, and yet finds itself now in a Game 7 on the road.
But with Kevin Love clearly not 100 percent and the rest of Cleveland’s supporting cast not doing enough to provide a threat around James, this is a golden opportunity for the Pacers to finally vanquish James form the playoffs after losing to him four times previously in the postseason.
Cleveland did get a boost before Game 7 when Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue said point guard George Hill will be available to play after missing Games 4-6 after suffering a back injury in Game 3. Lue wouldn’t say whether Hill would start or not, but either way it seems unlikely Hill would be able to play more than 20-25 minutes regardless.
Sunday’s schedule and results:
- Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers, 1 p.m., ABC (Series tied, 3-3)
- Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets (second-round series Game 1)
Additional reading:
Friday’s loss is likely just the beginning of a painful summer for the Oklahoma City Thunder
In wake of LeBron James no-call, Indianapolis mayor outlaws goaltending
The Miami Heat bet big on Hassan Whiteside. It appears they made a mistake. Now what?
The one-and-done rule is on the way out — because of NBA money, not NCAA morals
Retirement? Dwyane Wade says there’s ‘no breaking news here’
It feels like the end of an era for the San Antonio Spurs
The Sixers are flying high in the playoffs and, thanks to Joel Embiid, so is Kevin Hart
Why is there a snake on the Philadelphia 76ers’ court?
After first-round sweep, Blazers’ next steps could include trading away their stars
‘All my best games I was medicated’: Matt Barnes on his game-day use of marijuana
Adam Silver: One of the WNBA’s problems is that not enough young women pay attention to it
‘Get off her back’: LeBron James defends TNT reporter who asked him about Erin Popovich’s death
NBA, Twitch reach deal on 2K League streaming rights
Comment Q&A
Hop into the comments section below to chat with The Post’s Tim Bontemps about all of your NBA questions.
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