Takeaway #1: Late game growth from the young backcourt
During this 2019-20 season there have been a couple times against teams with similar talent level as them, with the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks coming to mind, where the Cavs have blown leads that resulted in losses.
Collin Sexton and Darius Garland really showed some late game growth on Friday, and led the way in the fourth closing out the Wizards. Sexton had 25 points on eight-of-17 shooting, while adding two assists, as noted by ESPN.
Garland also had 15 points on six-of-11 shooting, including going two-of-four from three-point land, while adding four assists.
Additionally, Sexton led all scorers with 14 points in the fourth quarter, while Garland added eight points and hit some really tough shots in the closing period. Obviously, coming into the fourth quarter both struggled a little bit, but they came up big when it mattered most in the 4th quarter.
Moreover, Sexton has played pretty well over the past month, but it was nice to see Garland come through in crunch time. He had really hit a rookie wall, so seeing him have a game like this was an encouraging sign.
Granted, Garland is coming off a major injury in college in his reported meniscus tear and he only played in five games last year, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. I think out of everyone on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Garland benefited from the All-Star break the most.
I’ve said this before, but rebuilding in the NBA is long and so difficult. It’s not like the NFL when a team like the San Francisco 49ers can turn it around in a year.
That typically doesn’t happen in the NBA unless you land a transcendent, otherworldly superstar. Outside of that, if you have a ton of youth you’ll lose a lot of games and experience growing pains.
Factoring in that youth for the Cavs that has a ways to go, this was a good sign for their young backcourt to step up like they did in this game late, though.