In what has been a tough year for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and in what is going to be a rebuild that will take a few seasons, gritty, hard-fought wins every once in a while are crucial to keep the locker room in it.
We’ve been down this road before when discussing the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are just 8-23 on the season, and they are devoid of top-end talent that is essential to win on a regular basis in the NBA. Nonetheless, Cleveland is not kowtowing to their opponents and are competing and showing “fight” under head coach Larry Drew, despite some tough circumstances, as our own Robbie DiPaola recently hit on. Last night’s win over a far-superior Indiana Pacers team was an example of a time where the Cavs got a hard-fought victory, and even in a rebuilding situation for the near future, quality W’s every once in a while are crucial to keeping the team in it mentally.
These guys are competitors, and I understand they are being paid handsomely, but it’s refreshing to see the Cleveland Cavaliers get some wins over better teams every so often, even when few give them a chance. The Cavs had to earn everything they got on the road against a Pacers squad that is one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference (and has the NBA’s second-best defensive rating, per NBA.com).
In a slugfest style of play, Cleveland got a monstrous performance from Larry Nance Jr. with 15 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals (and had the game-winning tip at the final buzzer). This kind of hustle play is something Cleveland Cavaliers fans can really appreciate, even in a game that probably doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of the season.
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1075216238341697536
Nance is a guy that Cleveland hopes can be a cornerstone player in the coming years, and a performance like this one shows how promising his time with the Cavs could be. Tristan Thompson will reportedly be sidelined for a few weeks with a foot sprain, and Kevin Love will reportedly be back later on next month due to his current toe injury, and Nance’s contributions have seen an uptick as a result.
In the four games since Thompson went down, Nance has averaged 9.8 points on 47.1 percent shooting (including 44.4 percent from three-point land), and is leading the Cavs in rebounding (10.3), assists (6.3), steals (2.5) and blocks (1.3) per game, per NBA.com. He’s had a robust plus-4.3 plus-minus as well.
Rafael Hernandez-Brito (known as Rafa “El Alcalde”), the Cavs’ bilingual play-by-play announcer and co-anchor on Fox Sports Ohio’s “Cavs HQ” summed this game perfectly in regards to Nance’s impact.
The other kid from Akron with a huge night for the @Cavs. @Larrydn22 15 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, the put back at the buzzer for the W and an end to the #Pacers 8 game win streak. Without a doubt, his best game with the #Cavs. #FollowTheLeader #BeTheFight pic.twitter.com/zQ0R09wY0E
— Rafa Hernández-Brito (@ElalcaldeRafa) December 19, 2018
Cleveland needed a big game from Nance going against the Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, and especially with the Cavs minus their leading scorer in Jordan Clarkson, who was reportedly out due to lower back soreness, per Cavs.com’s Joe Gabriele.
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Other players stepped up, though, as Rodney Hood had a solid 17 points on five-of-12 shooting, to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman didn’t have their best games but had a tough matchup offensively against the Pacers’ stingy defense that makes it difficult to get to the rim.
Matthew Dellavedova had another nice outing again for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as he had 10 points and four assists, and was a game-high plus-18, per ESPN. Our own Eli Mooneyham recently touched on how much Delly has meant to this team as a grinder, and now this rebuilding Cavs team seems to find new life when he’s on the floor.
As the Cavaliers progress in their rebuild going forward over the next few months, which will likely bring change to the roster, getting tough wins over teams like the Pacers will be essential to keep the team fighting hard every night for Drew and company. The Cavs aren’t (and shouldn’t) going to win much the rest of at least this season, and they shouldn’t to get a high pick anyhow, but as long as they stay engaged and scrap every night and get a win here and there, that should help young players such as Osman and Sexton stay in it mentally in Cleveland’s rebuild.
Character matters, and games like last night help build a winning culture.