Big Three and 'D' show out against the Pacers

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/NBAE via Getty Images)

Now this looks like the team we expected.

Coming off two straight dominant defensive performances, the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-7) made it three in a row, holding the Indiana Pacers (7-10) to 39.3 percent shooting, and defeated them by a score of 109-97.

Just when questions were being raised about Kevin Love and his involvement in the offense, he laid all of them to rest by having his best game of the season. Love scored 28 points (9-for-13 shooting), and got them in a variety of ways. He scored in the post, knocked down some mid-range jumpers, nailed two 3-pointers and even drove and scored while taking some contact. With the way that LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have played, if he can continue to show his versatility that he showed tonight, teams across the league will finally begin to fear the Cavaliers.

Speaking of James and Irving, they were also key in tonight's win. When the Cavaliers were clinging to a four-point lead after halftime despite leading by 18 at one point, James dominated the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 19 points in that period and attacking the paint in a way that many are used to seeing LeBron play. He put the exclamation point on tonight's win late in third, when he scored, got fouled and hit the free throw to give the Cavaliers a 19-point lead, their biggest of the night.

As Irving, he put together another ho hum outing. 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and plenty of highlight reel plays. During the Cavaliers 27-8 run to start the game, Irving jumped and caught a deflection, and, while still in the air, threw a perfect one-handed pass in stride to Shawn Marion, who would finish with a dunk.

Not only was his offense on point tonight, Irving's defense was just as good, as was the rest of the Cavaliers defense. Cleveland forced Indiana into some tough shots, and that was in part to Irving's shutdown of former Cavalier Donald Sloan. The Pacer's point guard was quietly having himself a nice season coming into tonight, but was held to just two points tonight on 1-of-8 shooting. Irving has said he wants to become a better defender, and nights like this are showing just how much he means by that.

Unlike the previous three-game winning streak, I think the Cavaliers are starting to find their rhythm on both sides of the ball. The communication and energy have looked vastly different form what it was just a week ago, and it will only get better. Could this be the beginning of a dominating stretch that Cavalier fans haven't seen in four years?

Three Things:

1. This is gonna be fun.

I hate to steal the phrase used from this famous Sports Illustrated cover, but that's exactly what it's going to be like every time the Cavaliers take the floor, especially now that are starting to find some chemistry. Irving made an unbelievable pass to Marion tonight, but it was LeBron's no-look pass to Irving that wowed people across the league. LeBron looked to be directing traffic on the elbow, then threw a snap pass to Irving who laid it in with the left hand. Now that Love is getting things going, will there be a more exciting team in the league? I say no. 

2. KyD Irving?

Okay, yeah, that sounds kind of dumb. But on a serious note, how good has Irving looked on defensive over the last few games? Last year, Irving was laughing stock on defense, with guys PRAYING to play him in order to get up their stats. This year? Not so much. Against the Wizards, he held John Wall to six points after he gave up 28 to him in the previous match-up. He again shut down the point guard, a big reason the Cavaliers held the Pacers to under 40 percent shooting. I'm not saying he'll ever be an elite defender, but from what he's shown this year, that's all the Cavaliers will need if they want to compete for a title.

3. Come on, bench.

The great thing about having LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love is that if all three of them are on, it's going to be hard for Cleveland to lose. Tonight was a prime example of that, as the bench again failed to provide any help that luckily the Cavaliers didn't need. The Pacers bench out-scored the Cavaliers 52-16, and almost overcame an 18-point first quarter deficit heading into halftime. Unlike the Raptors game, the starters were able to regain their large lead in the second half and cruise to a double-digit win. This has been a problem all season, and if and when the starters struggle, the bench has shown they aren't good enough to overcome that.

Statline of the night:

Kevin Love: 28 points, 11 rebounds, 9-of-13 shooting.

Love finally showed why he has been considered one of the best players in the game with his performance tonight. He scored in a multitude of ways, notched his seventh double-double of the season and most importantly, looked to be comfortable on both ends of the court. Love has been the last piece of the puzzle for the Cavaliers to get rolling, and tonight was a step in the right direction.

What's next:

Dec. 2, at home against the Milwaukee Bucks, 7:00 p.m.

Cleveland Cavaliers-Indiana Pacers preview

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Indiana Pacers

Record: 7-9, eighth in the Eastern Conference

Offense: 98.6 offensive rating (26th)

Defense: 101.7 defensive rating (10th)

The Good

- ALL OF THE REBOUNDS. Seriously, the Pacers are really good at controlling the glass, ranking in the top five of every rebounding category. What makes them so good at this is the overall team effort they put towards rebounding. There is not one player that averages more than 10 per game, but have seven guys who average at least four per game. The Pacers use their rebounding advantage effectively on the offensive end, where they average 15.9 second chance points per game, second-best in the NBA. Their offense isn't great, but if you let them get second chance opportunities, they will take advantage.

- The Pacers have had one of the stingiest defenses in the league over the last few years, and this year is no different. Despite losing two of their three best defenders from last season, the one that remains has anchored this Pacers that currently has given up the fifth-fewest points per game in the NBA. Roy Hibbert, who saw some criticism in last year's playoffs, has looked like his All-Star from last year, specifically on the defensive end, where he averages 2.8 blocks per game (second in the NBA) and forces opponent's to shoot 38.6 percent when Hibbert is guarding them. Without Hibbert (who might not play tonight), the Pacers will be vulnerable in the paint, where the Cavaliers have been attacking as of late.

The Bad

- If the Cavaliers off-season was at the top of the mountain, the Pacers was below rock bottom. Losing Lance Stephenson was big, but when All-NBA forward Paul George broke his leg during a USA men's national team scrimmage in July, the Pacers immediately went from an Eastern Conference contender to a lottery team in the matter of seconds. Without George, who has been one of the best two-way players in the league, the Pacers lack any sort of an offense threat, which was already a struggle even with George in the line-up.

- Speaking off the Pacers offense, it is as bad as advertised. They rank 27th in points per game and 26th in field goal percentage, but that's just the beginning of how bad they are on that end. You won't see them setting up teammates well, ranking dead last in both assists per game and assist percentage. It doesn't matter how bad the Cavaliers defense has been (it's actually looked better as of late), they are still capable of stopping this stale Pacers offense.

The Match-up to Watch

Kyrie Irving vs. Donald Sloan

This won't be a match-up that headlines any media outlets, but it will be the one to watch for in this game. Sloan has been a surprise for Pacers this season, being the second player Indiana desperately needed after all their losses, filling in nicely for injured George Hill. He'll get the chance to face-off against the guy he backed up for almost two years in Cleveland, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving. Could this be a Donald Sloan redemption game?

The Number

25

That's the number of points that LeBron needs to score if the Cavaliers want to win. When he scored more than that, the Cavaliers are 6-1. When he doesn't, Cleveland is 1-6. It's been stated that the Cavaliers go as far as LeBron James takes them, and this number only backs up that claim.

The Playlist

When thinking of music from Indiana, literally nothing comes to mind. Thankfully for the internet, I was reminded that Michael Jackson and the rest of the Jackson 5 were from Gary, Indiana. I normally like to use rap whenever I can for The Playlists, but it's hard to beat the King of Pop:

Why Cleveland will win

It shouldn't be hard to see why the Cavaliers should win this game. Their offense has been dynamite over the last two games, while their defense has gotten progressively better. The Cavaliers defense should benefit from playing a bottom-ranked Indiana offense, turning their turnovers into points and handily beating the Pacers.

Why Indiana will win

Donald Sloan redemption game! Seriously, don't have too many positive things going for them, but Sloan has been one of them. He put 29 points on the road against Dallas, and he could do that again depending on which Kyrie shows up on defense. Combine a great Sloan game with a prototypical defensive game from the rest of the Pacers, could steal one in Cleveland.

The Prediction

Cavaliers 109, Pacers 95

As good as the Pacers defense is, their offense is too big of an obstacle to overcome. Add the way the Cavaliers have been playing on both ends, I don't see the Pacers pulling off another road victory against a high-powered offense. It's gonna take a relapse in the Cavaliers defense and a bad showing from LeBron for Cleveland not to win their third straight.