The Cavaliers had a bit of a wild week, going 2-2 and dealing with some unexpected losses to teams they should’ve beaten. Cavs fans shouldn’t be worried at all, as we’re still near the top of our conference, and were dealing with a couple of injuries.
Game 1 vs the New York Knicks, Cavs lose 92-81: I’m not positive off of the top of my head, but I believe this was the Cavalier’s lowest-scoring game of the season. The Knicks played suffocating defense and the Cavs really felt the absence of Jarrett Allen here. The only rim defense came from Evan Mobley, who as great as he is can’t defend an entire team inside. Garland struggled shooting the ball here, going 5-19 from the field, as did Mitchell. Mitchell went 8-22 from the field, which is uncharacteristic of him. If the Cavs have Jarrett Allen for this game, they win. But that’s how the NBA works, injuries happen and you have to deal with the hand you are dealt. The Cavs played hard, and were led by Mitchell’s 23 points, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as the Knicks played a much better team game than the Cavaliers did.
Game 2 vs the Los Angeles Lakers, Cavs win 116-102: Anthony Davis went down early for the Lakers, exiting the game after only playing 8 minutes. I think the Cavaliers would’ve won regardless, but it definitely would’ve been closer if he finished the game. Donovan Mitchell had himself quite the game, scoring 43 points and doing so efficiently. Jarrett Allen had a huge first half and finished with 24 points. Garland did what he always does and tossed around 11 assists while scoring 21 points. This is how the Cavaliers are built to play; Have Mitchell be the primary scorer while Garland dishes the ball inside to the big men and scores when he needs to. Very well-rounded win.
Game 3 vs the Sacramento Kings, Cavs lose 106-95: The same story that applies to the Knicks game applies here. The Kings just played better everywhere overall. Played better as a team. The Cavs were without Mitchell, which is obviously a huge blow. Caris Levert led the Cavs in scoring with 22 points. Jarrett Allen had a “struggle game” being eaten alive by Sabonis and only scoring 8 points in return. Garland couldn’t get going again, shooting 7-17 from the field. The Kings played very well here, credit to them. They scored efficiently and often while the Cavs struggled to shoot. Well deserved win for Sacramento.
Game 4 vs the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cavs win 110-102: Garlands shooting slump continues, but the Thunder being a not-so-good team and the Cavs doing just enough was enough to win this game. The Cavs leading scorer was again Caris Levert as Donovan Mitchell sat out. Levert scored 22, and the next leading scorer for Cleveland was tied between Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, with 21 a piece. Mobley came alive late and is probably the reason the Cavs pulled away and finished with a win by 8 points. He gets better every game it seems. His shooting has become more confident and his mid-range shot is falling more. Garland only finished with 13 points but his presence was felt in the passing game as usual as he dished out 8 assists. The Cavs need to play better than they did here to beat better teams, and they will. It was a down night without their leading scorer and they still pulled off a win, and that’s all you can ask. I love this team. Thank you to the Clevelend Cavaliers.
All stats provided courtesy of NBA.com
John Zimmerman