On Tuesday evening, the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from playoff contention with a home loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of their second round series. The Cavs led this game by 19 points in the first half but ultimately went cold on offense, succumbing to a Pacers team that looked much more prepared for the moment.
It was a tough shooting night for Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, who was inefficient from the field and missed three crucial free throws late in the game.
Recently, ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith gave Mitchell somewhat of a backhanded compliment as it pertains to his playoff shortcomings.
“Your greatness mandates more than trips to the semifinals of the conference playoffs,” said Smith, per First Take on X, formerly Twitter.
Mitchell was playing on an injured ankle that he aggravated during the Cavs’ blowout loss in Game 4 vs the Pacers. Meanwhile, Darius Garland was a shell of his regular season self, playing through a toe injury that kept him out for the first two games of the series.
Where do the Cavs go from here?
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The Cavs now face an uncertain offseason after seeing their historic 2024-25 season come to an unceremonious in Game 5 of the second round, the same game in which they bowed out last season.
It’s unclear at this point how much of the Cavs’ playoff struggles the team’s front office will attribute to untimely injuries, and how much are concerns about the roster even when healthy.
There were always questions this season about whether the Cavs’ reliance on their backcourt featuring two small guards would come back to bite them in the postseason, but it’s not entirely fair to judge Mitchell and Garland on a series when they were both clearly far from 100%.
The more likely scenario is that the Cavs look to make some tweaks among the margins this summer while giving their core group another chance to run things back in 2025-26.
Still, it was certainly an unexpectedly early conclusion to a season that had legitimate championship expectations at one point in time.
