The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without three significant pieces in Game 2 of their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter are all listed as out for Cleveland, the No. 1 seed in the East that is already down 1-0 in the series after losing Game 1 at home on Sunday.
Garland missed Game 1 with a toe injury, but Mobley, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Hunter, one of the Cavs’ top reserves, were both injured in Sunday’s series opener. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters earlier Tuesday that Mobley hurt his ankle and Hunter suffered a dislocated thumb. Atkinson was not pleased with the level of physicality from the Pacers in that game.
“I don’t think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed the line of physicality, that line we’ve kind of been talking about where it became excessive,” Atkinson told reporters.
Mobley came down on the foot of Indiana’s Myles Turner early in the fourth quarter. Atkinson said Turner did not provide enough landing space for Turner, who was attempting a hook shot. Later in the quarter, Hunter went down hard after being contested on a fast break layup by Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin at the rim. No foul was called, much to the chagrin of Atkinson, who unsuccessfully used a challenge on the play.
“Everyone in the world, just look at that play,” Atkinson said. “And they reviewed it, and I’m just, like, in shock. I don’t know, and I guess I gotta know the rules better. Maybe I don’t know the rules. I felt he got absolutely obliterated and dislocated his thumb.”
Garland, meanwhile, will miss his fourth game in a row with his sprained big toe.
The Cavs were once listed as nine-point favorites, but that line was down to 5.5 points at BetMGM with the latest injury news.
With those three key players out, Cleveland is starting Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus as usual, but with Ty Jerome and Dean Wade rounding out the group. Jerome was a Sixth Man of the Year finalist and Wade has been a net rating darling for Cleveland for years now, but winning a playoff game without three key players is an enormous challenge. The Pacers, after taking Game 1, now have a meaningful advantage in Game 2.
