Cav-tastrophe

Good morning. The 64-win Cavaliers are in deep, deep trouble. Meanwhile, OKC is learning the recipes, the Celtics bounce back and the Wolves might be taking control. Let's basketball.

Thunder 2, Nuggets 2

Oklahoma City didn't really sweat against the Grizzlies. The team is in a full-on war with the Nuggets, who split the two games in Denver despite Nikola Jokic going 15/47 (32%) over the weekend. The Thunder are completely selling out on Jokic, and whether that works depends on how the other Nuggets perform on offense with the other Thunderers in rotation. On Friday in Game 3, it went well for the other Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon combined for nine threes, Jamal Murray found the seams and the Nuggets won 113-104 despite one of Jokic's worst ever statistical playoff games (20-16-6 with eight turnovers, 32% from the floor and 0/10 from deep).

Just as big a story from Game 3: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot just as bad as Jokic, and his co-stars (with the exception of Jalen Williams) didn't plug the holes to keep the shit afloat.

Game 4 featured worse offense, somehow. This should be a high-scoring affair for Oklahoma City: their offense was among the best in the league and the Nuggets haven't shown an ability to defend anyone all season. Until the playoffs, that is. Perhaps David Adelman has unlocked something. Perhaps the playoffs themselves are unlocking something. But the Thunder are really struggling to score: this game was 42-36 at the half. If Oklahoma City holds Denver to 21% shooting from the field over two quarters, they should be leading by way more than six points. Alas. Each team was 3/22 from deep. Does the thin air affect that, too?

The second half was somewhat cleaner, and important to OKC's lore going forward. Denver snatched a lead off a 15-3 run in the third, and it felt like the Thunder were going into a doom spiral. The shooting was just so bad, and every Denver three felt like another rock on OKC's inexperienced chest. But then in the fourth Cason Wallace hit a couple of threes in succession and Denver went cold and there went an 11-0 Thunder run to put Denver back on the mat. Shai took over the rest of the quarter (until he missed his last few shots and committed a turnover in the final two minutes as the Nuggets got desperate) and OKC held on.

It felt like a big moment in the growth of this Thunder team. This game was brutally ugly, the more experienced and carefree Nuggets smelled blood, tried to put the final moves on OKC and ... the Thunder withstood it. They played their game and survived. That's growth as a team, winning a gnarly, bitter road playoff game.

That said, OKC has had one of these before: Game 4 in Dallas a year ago to tie that series 2-2. The Mavericks went on to win the next two games and the series. So now we really see what the Thunder are made of.

Alex Caruso is roughly the third most important Thunderer right now. That pick-up was properly rated: everyone made a huge deal of it. This is why. His defense, supplemental ball-handling and occasional offensive threat is enormous. But especially the defense.

Pacers 3, Cavaliers 1

Cleveland survived the weekend, but barely. After going down 0-2 in Ohio and with all three of his injured teammates back, Donovan Mitchell deleted the sweep option from the menu on Friday with yet another spectacular offensive performance.

Just four points in 30 minutes for series hero Tyrese Haliburton in that one.

It was a much different story in Game 4 in Indianapolis on Sunday. The Pacers were locked in, leading 61-37 with three minutes left in the second quarter. It looked like Cleveland would need a huge push to start the second half, and really they need to get the game under 20 before the break with their starters in the game.

Instead, the Pacers did this.