CLEVELAND — Three of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ top players are “questionable” for Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers with injuries, and coach Kenny Atkinson is upset with Game 1 officials who did not call fouls when two of his players got hurt.
Atkinson expressed “real concern” over whether Darius Garland (toe sprain), De’Andre Hunter (dislocated thumb) and Evan Mobley (ankle injury) would be able to play in Tuesday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series in which the Cavs trail 1-0.
Mobley and Hunter were hurt on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Pacers, and while both returned to the game after their injuries, they were clearly bothered in a contest which Cleveland lost 121-112. Atkinson said he thought a foul should have been called on both plays. He went so far as to say that while he has the utmost respect for the Pacers and their coach, Rick Carlisle, he also felt the plays “passed the line of physicality … where it became excessive.”
The first to go down was Mobley, who scored a mini-hook shot over Myles Turner with about 8 minutes, 15 seconds left. Mobley landed on Turner’s foot and turned his ankle. Atkinson said Turner should have given Mobley room to land.
The next time down the floor, Hunter was attempting a dunk in transition that was blocked by Bennedict Mathurin, who appeared to put his other arm into Hunter’s chest in mid-air. Hunter fell to the court on his hand. Officials even reviewed the play to determine if there was a foul, deciding the contact was legal.
“The non-call on DeAndre’s layup … I’m just like in shock. Maybe I don’t know the rules,” Atkinson said. “I felt he got absolutely obliterated and dislocated his thumb, so he’ll be questionable.
“And then Evan … Turner contests his 2-point shot, comes under, clearly under him, right? And shooters need space to land. (Evan) is pushed off balance, in our opinion, and tweaks his ankle pretty bad,” Atkinson continued.
Atkinson, who will almost surely be fined by the NBA for his comments, then went in further on the officiating crew from Game 1 — Zach Zarba, Sean Wright, Gediminas Petraitis — saying “there should be some repercussions in terms of making the call.”
“I think that’s on the referees,” Atkinson said, making clear that he didn’t blame the Pacers for playing dirty, but officials for not calling fouls after excessive contact. “Maybe they were missed calls or maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules. But I have a problem when we have two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game. It’s hard for me to get my head around that, and there were no calls on either one.
“I haven’t talked about referees all year and I think the referees in this league are phenomenal, and they do a great job and that was a darn good crew last night. A ton of respect for those guys, but for some reason it bothers me that we’re dealing with this.”
Yes, you read that right. Atkinson said “doubtful” when talking about Mobley and Hunter’s status for Game 2, after he had already said they would be listed as “questionable.” Atkinson said, “to me, in my world, doubtful, questionable are in the same, live in the same world.”
Garland hasn’t played since Game 2 of Cleveland’s sweep of Miami after re-injuring his big left toe. Atkinson said Garland was on the court shooting Monday, but “it’s tough to really gauge where he is.”
And while we’re at it, Donovan Mitchell, who scored 33 points but was 1 of 11 on 3s, was laboring at the end of Game 1. A team source said Mitchell was not expected to miss Game 2.
The Pacers ran circles around Cleveland’s defense for large portions of the game and were much more disruptive on defense. Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 23 points and played bullish defense on Mitchell, who, according to NBA.com, was 1-of-10 shooting when Nembhard guarded him. Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and added 13 assists.
Mobley and Hunter — two switchable wing-and-post defenders — would create new, huge problems in addition to missing an All-Star point guard in Garland.
(Photo of Kenny Atkinson: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
