Cleveland has their backs against the wall RIGHT NOW
It looks like the team that was predicted to make it all the way to the final and eventually lose to OKC (as was shown by computer models, AI, and professional bookies) is very likely going to be eliminated today.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing game 5 right now and things are not looking good for them as they are starting to show signs of not really playing well as a team and it is near the end of the 3rd quarter right now.
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It always amazed me when a team that seems slightly above average in the regular season comes into the playoffs and looks like a completely different team and in this tournament that team appears to be the Pacers.
It appears as though the industry still has faith that Cleveland will pull off a W here though, as you can tell by this minute-by-minute probability chart
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Just like in games past, Cleveland is making the same mistakes that they always have in this series, but at least they are doing it with some hustle. They have at this point gone 2-19 on 3-point shots and let me tell you, that is NOT how you win a game. If I was the coach of the Cavs right now I would be like "if you try to put up a 3 I am taking your out of the game."
Indiana on the other hand is shooting nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Max Straus, who the Cavs picked up from Miami in 2023 has managed to miss every single shot he has taken and as you can tell from above, a lot of these were gimme baskets right under the net. This isn't helping things for the struggling Cleveland side.
They are 10 points down in the 3rd and are showing signs of fatigue and I wonder if they have already resigned themselves to failure at this point. As I mentioned before, the likelihood of coming back to win after going down 3 games to 1 is extremely unlikely and maybe the Cavs are tired, as well as prepared to just let this one go. They are gonna get their millions regardless.
Despite needing to be escorted off the court in the last game Donovan Mitchel is in the game right now and I think that if he gets subbed, that will be the official sign that the Cavs have just given up.
Excluding some sort of miracle, I think that Cleveland is on their way home in about half an hour.
For the first time in this series, the Vegas bookies predicted a victory on the part of the Pacers with a -325 money line and a point spread of 8.5. This indicates that they might have had some inside information about how the Cavaliers didn't really have a plan to try to salvage this series and are instead attempting to protect their players from further injury and just rest up for next year. This isn't awesome for the fans, but given how worn down they appear to be, it might be the best bet from a business point of view. Considering their payroll is in excess of $190 million, I suppose that makes a bit of sense.
Now the question remains in my mind: Is Indiana actually good or are the Cavaliers just giving up early? I suppose we'll find out in the weeks to come