The Cavaliers roll through a steady week, going 3-0 in the last stretch of the home stand before falling to The Bucks in Milwaukee. Not a bad week, this team continues to show it’s capable of playing through injuries and other adversity. Let’s take a look at the games.
Game 1 vs the Miami Heat: Miami was short nearly all of their star power, missing Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. While Kyle Lowry and co are serviceable, they had nearly no chance to keep up with the Cavalier offense. Darius Garland was cooking anyone who tried defending him, scoring 25 points and dishing out 7 assists. Cedi Osman had the hot hand, scoring 20 points on great shooting and snagging 12 rebounds. Evan Mobley continues to look great defensively against everyone he faces that isn’t named Giannis. This was a well-rounded team win where every player who received playing time had an impact in the 113-87 Cavalier win.
Game 2 vs the Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks big brothered is at the end of last year. This year, the Cavs seemed determined to stop that from happening again. And they did. Garland, Osman, and Mitchell combined for 78 points and 18 assists. Mitchell showing off his passing ability has been my favorite part of this new season so far. I honestly didn’t know he could pass the ball the way he has been. I love it. Defensively the Cavaliers continued to play great, holding Dejounte Murray to just 11 points on very bad shooting. Trae Young had some early success but grew cold as the defensive pressure grew. We were also treated to a RoLo sighting! Lopez finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes. Cavs win 114-102.
Game 3 vs the Portland Trailblazers: I would’ve loved to have watched this game if Dame were healthy. Two solid teams with elite point guards battling it out? Sign me up. Unfortunately, it didn’t play out that way as Dame missed the game, and it was never really close from the tip onwards. Cedi Osman’s hot hand finally grew cold, but Cavalier fans did not need to worry. Jarrett Allen had himself a monster game with an efficient 24 points and 12 rebounds. The Blazers had no answer for him inside. Nor did they have an answer for Garland and Mitchell, but not many teams do. Darius dished out 12 assists and made it look easy, and added 24 points on great shooting. I love his shooting motion. It’s a sight to behold. Mitchell dropped a hot 34 points as well. Simply unstoppable and too much for Anfernee Simons to handle. Cavs win 114-96.
Game 4 @ the Milwaukee Bucks: Ahh, the Bucks. Cavalier Kryptonite. This game was no different. The Cavs started super hot and went into the half with a decent-sized lead. It didn’t matter. Giannis is a savage on the court and took matters into his own hands and abused our defense. Nothing to be ashamed of, he’s the best player in the NBA and does this to everyone. As much as it sucked to watch, I couldn’t help but respect it. Giannis dropped a near triple-double on the Cavs heads with 38-6-9. A great game by him. Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points while Garland scored 20 in the losing effort. Bucks win 117-102.
The Cavaliers have been a very fun team this season, and I expect that they’ll keep it up. I hate to repeat myself, but they’re young and learning to play together with the addition of a new Superstar. These things take time, but as of now the Cavaliers are passing the test with flying colors.
All stats provided are courtesy of NBA.com
John Zimmerman