For as high-scoring and high-flying as they came to known during the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ “Cavalanche” settled to a stop when it mattered most. Despite being the No. 1 seed, the Cavaliers were bounced from the second round of the NBA playoffs in five games to the Indiana Pacers, bringing a disappointing end to a promising season — and leaving team owner Dan Gilbert with little return on one particular investment.
According to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, Dan Gilbert paid more than $500,000 to install fake snow machines at Rocket Arena, which were to be triggered when the Cavs went on one of their scoring runs that patented the “Cavalanche” moniker the team had rallied around during the 2024-25 regular season. But despite Cleveland’s scoring prowess, the machines turned out to be a dud: Despite sweeping the Miami Heat in the first round, the snow machines went off a total of one time before the Cavs finally fell to the Pacers to bring an end to their playoff hopes.
The Cavaliers’ elimination came despite Gilbert’s investment in the snow machines, and also despite his confidence that the Cavs could come back from a 3-1 deficit in the series like they famously did to win the 2016 NBA Finals. In a message to fans, Gilbert maintained an upbeat tone to remind fans that the team was well situated to continue contending.
The Cavs’ elimination marks the second straight year they’ve exited the NBA playoffs in the second round, and it comes after the team was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in this year’s playoffs. It also comes after Cleveland had ranked first in points per game as well as offensive rating.
