Cavs have one primary focus area ahead of Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Indiana Pacers.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Late Tuesday night, following Indiana’s come-from-behind win that solidified a showdown with the top-seeded Cavs in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson started detailed preparations for his newest opponent.
He came up with a maxim for this best-of-seven series, one he has preached ad nauseam over the last week.
Win the first three steps.
Atkinson is borrowing that line from longtime mentor Mike D’Antoni. But it’s fitting against the speedy Pacers who, according to the Cavaliers’ internal metrics, play faster than anyone else in the NBA — even though the league’s official pace rating put them seventh during the regular season and fifth among playoff teams.
“They can’t beat us those first three steps. They can’t beat us out of the blocks,” Atkinson reiterated following Saturday’s final practice ahead of Game 1. “Put our track shoes on. We have the athleticism, we have the speed, it’s just the initial shock of them doing it so consistently. They run more than anybody in the league. That’s not just from a visual. There’s facts behind that, right? Physical facts. I think in the Knicks series last year, they kind of wore ‘em out. Our guys are well aware, but we’re going to have to feel that and get accustomed to it. I think they have the message to understand.”
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Each player who spoke with reporters this week — Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus — was asked to identify the greatest challenge playing against Indiana.
The first word uttered was “fast” — or some variation of it.
“They’re like apparently the fastest transition team in the league,” Allen explained. “I don’t know the numbers personally, but that’s been the whole thing this whole training camp week, it feels like, is to try to prepare for their transition offense.”
“Their pace, their kick-aheads, how fast they play,” Jerome added. “That’s going to be an interesting challenge compared to the last series in Miami. They don’t really play with much pace. They don’t really play fast. A whole different team. That’s going to present a unique challenge for us.”
The Pacers enter this matchup as the second-best postseason offense, boasting a spectacular 118.0 rating, only topped by surgical Cleveland who sliced Miami’s helpless defense in Round One. They are fourth among the 16 playoff teams in fastbreak points per game and No. 1 in assist percentage.
That’s the same formula Indiana used to advance to the conference finals last spring.
“They’re a talented team. They’re battle tested,” Mitchell said. “This is a series where we gotta be ready to go from the jump.”
Indiana’s prolific offense is orchestrated by two-time All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who averaged 17.6 points and 11.6 assists against just 2.2 turnovers in the Round One gentleman’s sweep over Milwaukee.
“He always makes the right play and doesn’t really stat hunt,” Jerome said of Haliburton. “He’s a winner. He takes and makes big shots. He leads that team. He’s a real definition of a point guard.”
Last month, an anonymous poll was released from The Athletic, surveying NBA players on countless topics.
One of the categories was “Most Overrated Player.” Ninety players were willing to cast a vote, the second-fewest votes cast in any category. Thirty-three players received at least one vote. Haliburton earned the unflattering title, finishing with 14.4% of the vote.
“I didn’t partake in that poll,” Jerome said. “Obviously, I saw it. He’s led that team to the four seed, conference finals last year. Obviously, they have a lot of good pieces around him, but I think he’s a really good point guard.
“He’s the head of the snake,” Mitchell added. “There’s a lot of respect for him and what he brings over there. At the end of the day, if people want to say that, they want to say that, but, you know, we don’t look at it that way. We understand how important he is to that group. He’s a threat, and we’ve got to make sure we try to find ways to neutralize him.”
Haliburton is a portrait of Indiana’s identity. He dictates pace and tempo brilliantly. He elevates teammates. He finished near the top of the NBA in almost every alphabet-soup category designed to measure impact and value — Player Efficiency Rating (PER), Win Shares, Box Plus-Minus (BPM), Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) and Estimated Real Plus-Minus (EPM).
“I know this coach does not underrate him,” Atkinson said. “In no sense, in no terms. I think he’s one of the hardest covers. He can score and then he’s a lead passer. It reminds me of the LeBrons of the world, the James Hardens of the world, they can just fire passes on a dart to any spot on the court and they’re big. They must not be watching the same film I’m watching. I think he’s elite.”
During practices in the lead up to Sunday night, Cavs assistant coach Omar Cook played the role of Haliburton. Cook, a New York prep star and former second-round pick, is considered one of the best distributors in European basketball history. He’s been an integral, behind-the-scenes figure in Darius Garland’s bounce-back season.
Cook’s focus has been the other point guard in this series. He’s been trying to mimic Haliburton’s unique vision and craftiness in the pick-and-roll while matching the relentless approach when it comes to transition attacks.
“We have the coaches try their best,” Allen said with a chuckle. “It’s tough to replicate it. Haliburton, when he gets the rebound and he kicks it ahead to somebody else to get an open 3 or just whatever their play is, it’s hard to replicate.”
The Cavs aren’t in Miami anymore. This isn’t viewed as one of the most lopsided matchups in playoff history.
Indiana — with its depth, skill, talent, versatility and potent offense — has Cleveland’s attention and respect.
“The hardest thing to guard in basketball is five out, five shooters,” Atkinson said. “It’s the Boston conundrum, it’s Indiana — how much are you going to switch? Are you going to stay in coverage? Obviously against Miami, we were in coverage a lot, right? We didn’t switch as much. But this series could be different because of the five out. You have more area to cover. Normal transition defense, you run to the paint and cover, but they’re running to spots on the 3-point line. You have to change or adjust your transition defense tactic.”
Even though the Cavs have spent the last week praising the Pacers and instilling different defensive guidelines — look for the 2-3 zone to be a utilized wrinkle — they understand their pathway to success can’t change too drastically.
“We’re gonna try to dictate the series and play how we want to play,” Jerome said. “When you believe you’re the best team, you don’t really adjust. Obviously, they present unique challenges, but we’re gonna play how we want to play.”
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