The Cleveland Cavaliers failed to keep up with the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.
Granted, the Pacers deserve all the credit in the world for the way they’ve been playing, and they’re more talented than people give them credit for.
Nevertheless, perhaps their most distinctive aspect is that they’re clearly hungrier, angrier, and more determined than every other team they’ve faced.
That, per Daryl Ruiter, was what the Cavs were missing.
After watching the Pacers punch their tickets to the NBA Finals, and with three consecutive meltdowns in the playoffs, the renowned analyst stated that this core of players just didn’t have the mental toughness to play with that kind of intensity in the postseason:
“I am sure they can’t [play with mental and physical intensity]. Proved the last 3 playoffs, as currently constructed, they are incapable,” Ruiter posted on X.
I am sure they can’t. Proved the last 3 playoffs, as currently constructed, they are incapable. https://t.co/W9uVTooBED
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) June 1, 2025
This core of players has failed to step up to the task in the playoffs over and over.
That’s why, even when they were leading the Eastern Conference by a wide margin, some people still doubted they would be able to handle business when it actually counted.
For the past three years, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland have been non-factors in the playoffs, both of them actually being liabilities in elimination games.
They’re clearly very good and very talented players, but sometimes, it takes more than that to get the job done in this league.
It’s a shame, and everybody wanted things to work out with this core.
But the sample size is now big enough for us to realize that it might be time to hit the drawing board again.
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