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The Cleveland Cavaliers entered this year’s playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs then cruised through a first-round series with the Miami Heat.
But the Cavs’ second-round series with the Indiana Pacers proved to be much more challenging. The Pacers’ 114-105 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday secured the Eastern Semifinals win for Indianapolis. Indy now awaits the winner of the Knicks-Celtics series.
Amid the criticism over the Cavs’ disappointing playoff run, the team’s star guard Donovan Mitchell got caught in former NBA player Kenyon Martin’s crosshairs.
Kenyon Martin looks on during the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest as part of 2023 NBA All Star Weekend on Saturday, February 18, 2023, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
During a recent appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena Podcast,” Martin also took aim at Mitchell’s teammates, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter. Martin expressed his displeasure with those three players’ lack of availability in the Eastern Semifinals.
PACERS ELIMINATE CAVS TO ADVANCE TO 2ND STRAIGHT EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
“You don’t suit up, bro, give me something? We’re already down Darius Garland, we know he ain’t healthy. We know this going into it, he missed Game 1. So him playing in Game 2 is slim and none. We’ve got to this point DeAndre Hunter, when you came in we started playing better. Evan Mobley we rely on you nightly, it ain’t just your points, it’s your defensive presence, it’s you being out there, it’s something that we could use. When they didn’t play in Game 2 I’m like, ‘Oh man they ain’t going to beat nobody, ain’t got no heart,’” Martin said.
April 2, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) and guard Donovan Mitchell (45) wait alongside head coach Kenny Atkinson to enter the game during the first half against the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena. (Ken Blaze-Imagn Images)
“If I’m Donovan Mitchell, I’m going to that mother f—-r like, ‘Yo, man we got to do something. Whoever you’ve got to go get, whoever you’ve got to get rid of.”
The Pacers eliminated the Cavaliers in five games.
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