Behind an impressive, balanced offensive attack and full-court defensive pressure, Indiana won its series opener in Cleveland against the top-seeded Cavaliers. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes (subscriber link), the big question now for the Cavs isn’t necessarily how they’ll respond in Game 2 — it’s who will be available.
Point guard Darius Garland appeared in a career-high 75 games this season, but he aggravated a sprained left big toe in Game 2 of Cleveland’s first-round series vs. Miami and has missed the past three games, including Sunday’s loss to the Pacers.
“I know it’s a tough one, especially being able to stop and start (on the toe),” head coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Garland’s injury. “But we don’t want him out there (at) 60 percent, 50 percent the way they pressure the ball. It just doesn’t make sense.”
While Jared Greenberg of TNT hears there’s no structural damage to Garland’s toe and there’s a chance he could suit up on Tuesday (Twitter link), the two-time All-Star continues to deal with “significant pain and swelling,” according to Fedor.
Garland’s absence in Game 1 caused a “trickle-down effect” on the rest of the roster, says Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, particularly Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome, who put up 30 and 20 shots, respectively — more than half (5o) of the team’s overall field goal attempts (98). The Cavaliers will be under real pressure to play Garland in Game 2 after losing homecourt advantage, according to Lloyd.
“I know he’s desperate to play,” Atkinson said after the loss. “We need his speed and shot-making.”
Garland isn’t the only noteworthy Cavalier whose status for Game 2 is uncertain. Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley tweaked his left ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 1 after landing on Myles Turner‘s foot, while forward De’Andre Hunter sustained a dislocated right thumb on a dunk attempt mere seconds later. Atkinson was miffed that neither play resulted in a foul on Indiana, per Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“I don’t think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed a line of physicality,” Atkinson said Monday. “That line we’ve kind of been talking about where it became excessive. I don’t think this is on Indiana; I have so much respect for how they play. But the fact of the matter, that’s on the referees. Maybe they weren’t missed calls, and maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules, but I have a problem when we got two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game. It’s hard for me to get my head around that.”
According to Fedor, Atkinson referred to Mobley and Hunter as both questionable and doubtful during Monday’s media session. When asked to clarify, Atkinson said they’d be listed as questionable, but there’s “real concern” about their availability for Tuesday’s game. Garland will also be listed as questionable.
“We just did shootaround today, so it was tough to really gauge kind of where he is,” Atkinson said of Garland. “So yeah, he’ll be questionable, too, for tomorrow.”
For what it’s worth, Hunter told Fedor after Sunday’s loss that he’d be ready to go on Tuesday, but Mobley was a little more circumspect about whether or not he’d be healthy enough to suit up.