The biggest upset in the first round of 2018 NBA Playoffs so far was the 98-80 win Indiana Pacers had against the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to the Cavs All-Star forward Kevin Love, this was a wake-up call for his team.
“It’s like that sometimes,” – said Love after practice on Tuesday. “Sometimes you need to get hit in the mouth and that will wake you up pretty fast. That will make you pay attention.So we did that, we fought back, gave ourselves a chance, cut the lead down to single digits, but at that point, they just had a ton of confidence. They’re a good team. They’re a really good team, well-coached with guys who do a lot of different things, so we’re going to have to read and react, continue to watch film, see where we can get better and make sure that our coverages are on point.“
Although the entire Cleveland Cavaliers team had a bad night on Sunday, Kevin Love especially struggled on the offense. Although the 29-year-old had 17 rebounds, he also ended the game with just nine points. Love recognized the issues he had in the first game and will enter the Game 2 prepared.
“I think part of it is on me just to be more aggressive, to get post touches,” – he said. “Sometimes I fall into my own trap of just spacing everybody. That allows other guys to get downhill, Bron to play his game. But I think just mixing it up even when he’s not in the game, getting in the post a little bit more, getting offensive rebounds, getting more touches in there, not even to shoot it in some cases, but just to feel the ball down there and guys to maybe get different looks in two-man game or in second-side action. That’s partially on me too with just coming out and attacking first and being more aggressive.“
