CLEVELAND -- With shooting guard Kyle Korver working his way through a foot injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers started Rodney Hood against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena Sunday.
But early in the game, Hood picked up two quick fouls and never recovered, struggling his way to just nine points over 20-plus minutes in a 98-80 loss in front of a capacity crowd in Cleveland.
“It affected it a lot,” Hood said. “The second foul, you let it go, it’s a dunk, so I had to take that one, but it affected my rhythm.
“I started out with a dunk and the three I shot in transition felt good. I was confident at first, and then, sitting for long periods of time really affected me, so I’ve just got to be more mindful of that starting the game.”
PHOTOS: Rodney Hood confident Cleveland Cavaliers will rebound from Game 1 loss to Indiana Pacers
Hood opened the game strong, as he caught a pass from small forward LeBron James after curling around a screen and rose up for the dunk over an Indiana defender, but within the next three minutes, Hood committed his first two fouls.
Hood converted four of his eight looks from the field, just one of his four three-point tries and missed a pair of free throws in the loss.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” said Hood, who played in 11 playoff games with the Utah Jazz. “Just getting out there, especially when I got the first dunk, I was fine. It’s just when you’re sitting on the bench that long, it takes you some time to get in rhythm and things like that, but other than that, I was fine.”
During the regular season, Hood averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.7 steals over 21 games with the Cavaliers. Hood converted 44.2 percent of his attempts from the field, 35.2 percent of his three-point tries and was an 81.3-percent shooter from the free-throw line.
After arriving in Cleveland via one of three trades on February 8, the 6-foot-8, 206-pound Hood struggled to consistently play with the type of aggressiveness that made him an effective player for the Jazz, and it is that style that he wants to bring to the Cavaliers in Game 2.
“Find more ways to be in tune with the game,” Hood said.
“Foul trouble kind of hurt me, but just playing defense, trying to find spots where I can be aggressive, defensive rebounds so I can push, something like that to just keep me going. Cutting to the basket, things like that, but it’s not one thing in particular.”
