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Cavaliers trying to flip their playoff switch, but is it still there?

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers always got the benefit of the doubt because they could flip a switch in the playoffs. But where is that switch right now?

Cleveland had its bell rung by the Indiana Pacers in Game 1. Its response was to scrape out a three-point win in Game 2 after Victor Oladipo missed a wide-open look to force overtime, but it then squandered a 17-point halftime advantage in Game 3 to fall 2-1 in the series.

The Cavaliers look lifeless, and doubt is starting to creep in. Does that postseason switch still exist, or have exhaustion and poor roster management caught up with them?

LeBron looks exhausted

Cleveland's biggest concern is that LeBron James wasn't assertive in two of the three games, and exhaustion is becoming a significant worry.

James salvaged his stat line with some late threes in Game 3, but was nowhere to be found when the Pacers erased the 17-point deficit in the third quarter. Once George Hill and Kevin Love cooled off, the Cavaliers froze up, and James resorted to being a playmaker instead of attacking the paint.

He took the same approach in Game 1, shooting 7-of-17 for 24 points while playing 44 minutes. Both times, he was covered by Bojan Bogdanovic, but James never quite forced the issue by taking him to the paint.

From afar, James appears to be playing like he did during the regular season by pacing himself and conserving energy. Save for his dominant 20-point effort in the first quarter of Game 2, he looked tired and unbothered, which really shouldn't be a surprise given his workload.

He is playing in his 15th season after making seven straight Finals runs. He played all 82 contests for the first time in his career this season, led the league in minutes per game for a second consecutive year, and was forced to carry the entire franchise through a tumultuous and injury-filled campaign.

All those furious comebacks in March, all those reps to help his new teammates gel, and all those extra minutes dedicated to his MVP push are taking their toll. James already looks drained, and he's only in the first round.

Kyrie's gone, and nobody is stepping up

James rarely had an off night in the past, but when he did, there was Kyrie Irving to carry the Cavaliers.

That luxury is gone, as Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman flipped Irving for nothing of immediate value. Isaiah Thomas is long gone, Jae Crowder was hardly there in the first place, and Ante Zizic has as many postseason points as the Brooklyn Nets pick.

Kevin Love was supposed to step up as the secondary star but was always more comfortable as an overqualified third option, and remains invisible half the time. Love is averaging just 14 points per game on 15-of-37 shooting from the field, and he has a grand total of eight points in 24 fourth-quarter minutes.

The rest of the Cavaliers are capable of catching fire, but they're mostly unreliable. Hill enjoyed a strong start in Game 3, but completely faded by the second half. J.R. Smith scored 15 points in Game 1 then responded with five and eight, respectively. Rodney Hood has yet to crack double digits. Kyle Korver is 4-of-13 from deep while being a huge target on defense. Jordan Clarkson and Jeff Green have combined for 18 total points.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue isn't inspiring much confidence. He admitted after Game 1 he didn't get his best lineup in the game, and while his defensive scheme has successfully pinned the Pacers under 100 points in all three contests, Lue hasn't found any answers on offense.

But don't count them out just yet

All that being said, so long as James is healthy, there will always be hope. After completing the greatest comeback in NBA history in 2016, the Cavaliers can never be counted out.

James already showed in Game 2 he can single-handedly swing a game. It's hard work, and he probably didn't expect so much resistance in the first round, but that gear is there if he chooses to reach back for it. Expect a more assertive James in Game 4; there's no reason to pace himself if he loses in the first round, so he might as well let it fly.

Cleveland could also turn the tide if some of its shooters just made open shots. The Pacers have successfully walled off the paint, but the Cavaliers have bailed them out by shooting just 34 percent on threes without a defender within four feet. Korver, Hood, Green, and Hill have shot a combined 9-of-34 from deep, a mark surely bound to improve.

The silver lining for the Cavs is that their otherwise shaky defense has looked strong. They've posted a defensive rating of 101.4 against Indiana, which is much improved from their regular-season average of 109.5. Oladipo has been a problem, but Lue's trapping scheme largely neutralized him late in Game 3.

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