00:00Cleveland Cavaliers back on their home four with a good bit of injury news.
00:04Donovan Mitchell ready to go for game number five with the Cavaliers despite a 64-win
00:10regular season on the brink of elimination.
00:13In early DRS in game number five, it seemed as though the Cavs understood
00:18the moment in the atmosphere of which they were playing.
00:21They led by 19 early in the second quarter.
00:25But then the Indiana Pacers showed their might and their own playoff pedigree,
00:31advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals with a rally for a second consecutive year
00:36and a 115-105 win outright in the land.
00:41Indiana wins outright as an eight-and-a-half point underdog.
00:44A total of 231 stays well under.
00:48DRS with the return of Donovan Mitchell.
00:51That line kept working to the Cleveland Cavaliers despite 81% of the bets thinking Indiana was
01:00the right side and would clinch this series in only five games.
01:04It felt very much like the public versus the oddsmakers.
01:08The public and the Pacers got that edge last night.
01:12Indiana back into the Eastern Conference Finals for a second consecutive year.
01:16And albeit with some bad injury luck, the Cleveland Cavaliers season ends in wild disappointment
01:23after a 64-18 mark and becoming that one seed in the Eastern Conference.
01:28Yeah, if Cleveland wasn't injured in the playoffs here, they would be moving on to the Eastern
01:32Conference Finals.
01:34And we'll see about the Boston Celtics.
01:35But those were the two teams there.
01:37They were fantastic.
01:38Like, if we had a healthy Donovan Mitchell, he's not going eight for 25 last night.
01:42He probably goes for 50-plus points and they win that game.
01:44Like, even in game number two where there were so many players down, he was like, dude,
01:47I'm the best player on the court by a wide margin.
01:49And they still should have won that game and blew it.
01:51Like, it's crazy that some of these teams like the Pacers and or the Knicks that we'll
01:54talk about where it's like, man, we're down so many points against a better opponent here.
01:58And the ability just to call back and win those basketball games on the road are unbelievably
02:03impressive.
02:04But it's just a shame that we never got to see the full force Cleveland Cavaliers outside
02:08of the first round.
02:08Because a healthy Garland, a healthy Mitchell, you know, other players that can really step up.
02:12It's a shame it happened.
02:13But again, you had a big lead in your own building and you let that slip away.
02:16I don't care who is on the basketball court at that point yesterday.
02:20And you take a look at that Donovan Mitchell, 4 of 13 from three-point range.
02:24What was that, one of his first 11 here?
02:25Like, he didn't start making three-point shots until the very end of that basketball game.
02:29And even in a pivotal moment, he gets fouled on a three-point shot.
02:33And this is three consecutive free throws in a big moment.
02:36Now, the next series, he comes down, drops the three.
02:38Like, oh, he made up for it.
02:39Well, how about if he made the three free throws, then hit the three, then we're at a
02:43tie ball game.
02:44And now you have momentum back on your side for the final few moments of that basketball
02:48game.
02:48Credit the Indiana Pacers for going on the road in a game five knowing you would get the
02:53kitchen sink thrown at you.
02:54And you did in the first half.
02:56And you still came away with a victory.
02:58That is a quality basketball team with a good starting five and players that understand how
03:02to step up and make big shots in big moments here.
03:05We're not taking anything away from the Pacers.
03:06I just wish the Cleveland Cavaliers had a fighting chance with their healthy players.
03:11That's all.
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