The Cleveland Cavaliers started strong but couldn’t hold off the San Antonio Spurs in what could be a NBA Finals preview.
After holding the Spurs to a season low 20 points in the first quarter, it seemed like the Cavaliers had the right recipe to end San Antonio’s 31 game winning streak at home. The Spurs showed why they’ve been so dominant on their home court. At one point the Cavaliers had a 15 point lead but the Spurs kept chipping away at it with high quality shots. Cleveland held a one point lead after the third quarter thanks to a Matthew Dellavedova buzzer beating three, but that lead would be the last one they see. The Spurs took over in the fourth, didn’t look back and ultimately beat the Cavaliers 99-95— in what could be the game of the year so far.
Leading the way for the Cavaliers once again was LeBron James, who scored a team high 22 points on 9/17 shooting, dished out five assists and grabbed seven boards. James’ 22 points was a tough 22 because he was shadowed by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard all game. Anytime James would try and cause a switch off of a pick-and-roll to get a favorable matchup, Leonard would disrupt it by fighting through the screen and making sure he was going to be the one guarding James. There were a few times James took advantage of Tim Duncan or Tony Parker switching on a pick-and-roll but for the majority of the game James had Leonard in the face.
Giving the Cavaliers’ fits, other than Leonard who dominated on both ends of the floor (20 points, 10 rebs), was Parker. He sliced up the Cavaliers by scoring a game high 24 points on 11/18 shooting. The 14 year veteran looked like the Parker of old who helped sweep the Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals. He was cutting through the Cavs defense like a hot knife through butter and made tough layup after tough layup in the paint.
For a game that featured stars like Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Leonard and James, it was very shocking to see Parker take over on the offensive end like he did and lead the game in scoring.
Here’s some stuff we learned from the loss:
Kevin Love Has Struggled Against The Spurs:
Ever since Love has joined the Cavaliers he’s been non-existent against the Spurs. In three games Love has played in, he’s averaging 9.3 points, 9.3 rebounds while shooting 31% from the field. His defense has also been lacking drastically compared to any other game.
The Cavaliers record is 1-2 against the Spurs since the formation of the Big 3.
For a someone of Love’s caliber to only average 9.3 points and rebounds while shooting 31% is flat out unacceptable. The Cavs need more from him, especially since the Spurs are a potential matchup in the NBA Finals. He is too important to this team to have games like this.
Timofey Mozgov Is Slowly Becoming A Problem:
There has been very few times this season where Mozgov looks like the player the Cavaliers traded for last season. Thursday Night’s game against the Spurs was not one of those games. In fact it wasn’t even close.
In 15 minutes of play, Mozgov contributed four fouls, one turnover and two rebounds. One of those fouls was at the three point line while Danny Green was attempting a three. Mozgov closed out on Green while swiping at his hand to cause the foul. Green would only hit 2/3 free throws.
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Mozgov doesn’t need to do anything spectacular to help this team. All they need him to do is protect the paint and finish his chances at the rim. So far he hasn’t done any of that. He’s been a liability on the offensive end of the floor by struggling to either finish a shot at the rim or create a shot from the post. On defense he struggles to defend off the pick-and-roll and has allowed too many shots in the paint. Mozgov’s also struggled on the boards this season.
It’s getting to the point where Mozgov is becoming unplayable. Mozgov has to get some minutes though because Anderson Varejao and Sasha Kaun are unplayable too. Mozgov needs to step it up. It’s that plain and simple. If he doesn’t I wouldn’t be surprised if David Griffin tries to pick up another big man in a trade.
Next Opponent:
The Cavs have a quick turnaround and travel to Houston to take on the Rockets at 9:30pm ET on ESPN.