Cavs: Looking back at 3 most entertaining games of 2019-20 thus far

With the current NBA season being on hiatus indefinitely, I thought it’d be fun to look back at the three best games of the 2019-20 season thus far for the Cleveland Cavaliers, in terms of the most entertaining. These were all wins, too.

As we all know by now, the current 2019-20 NBA season is on hiatus for the Cleveland Cavaliers and other teams due to efforts to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic that is having such a profound impact across the world.

Initially, the league suspended its current season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, and since, there have been other positive tests reported from other teams, and to view recent updates on COVID-19’s impact in the NBA, you can view those here.

To add to that, per a league memo sent on Friday, the league will be paying NBA players on April 1, but on April 15/then forward, it’s uncertain at the moment, h/t ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Here, though, with the league being on hiatus until further notice, I figured it’d be fun to look back at the three best games of the 2019-20 season thus far for the Cavaliers, and in terms of the most entertaining for fans, really.

I understand that the Cavs have been blown out a bunch this season, but the group has had plenty of entertaining moments, and they’ve been much more watchable this year, at least, than they were last season for a considerable amount of the season.

Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson being mostly healthy has had a ton to do with that, but the progression of young pieces has played into it, too, and going forward, I’d expect that to be the case more going forward under head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Alrighty then, we’ll get started with the third-most entertaining Cavs game thus far of 2019-20.

#3: January 9 – A 115-112 overtime W over the Detroit Pistons

The third-best Cavs game in terms of entertainment to this point, to me, was when the Wine and Gold came back and got a W in a 115-112 overtime game at the Detroit Pistons on January 9.

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In that one, the Cavs in the first half really had no answer for Andre Drummond inside, who is of course now on the Cavaliers, courtesy of a trade near the 2020 deadline.

In this one, Drummond ended up having 28 points on 13-24 from the field and 23 rebounds, per ESPN, and his constant presence on the glass on both ends, along with Derrick Rose, who had 27 points also on 13-of-24 shooting, had it especially rolling in the first half.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s Bruce Brown, who had 17 points, eight assists, four steals and two blocks, and the Pistons’ Tony Snell, who had 11 points and made some quality ball-swings and had three assists, also played well throughout much of this one.

Detroit would go into the break feeling good about themselves, as they closed the half with a 61-50 lead, and it again seemed like the Cavaliers were in bad shape.

Sexton and Garland would ultimately combine for 39 points, and Sexton would have six rebounds, two steals and two blocks, whereas Garland was making things happen more and more in the second half, as he had seven assists in the game and 20 points.

In the third quarter, though, the Wine and Gold got right back into it, and took back the momentum which they seemingly didn’t give back the rest of the way. Cleveland had a 31-point third quarter, led by Tristan Thompson, who had 12 points then, and Darius Garland, who had 10 points in that period, as noted by Basketball Reference.

The Cavs would eventually be down just two going into the fourth, and the likes of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland came up big then in key moments, especially in pick-and-roll, in addition to Tristan Thompson, obviously, in much of this one.

Garland didn’t score in that period, but he dish out three assists, and TT, as was hit on, continued to shine in his career night, as he got the better of Drummond, en route to 10 big points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a big block in the fourth.

Additionally, in order to send the game to overtime, where the Cavs slugged it out 13-10 and won, Cleveland got a huge stop by Alfonzo McKinnie, who was then on a 10-day deal and has since signed a four-year deal, though most of the years on that are non-guaranteed.

Anyhow, in this one, the Cavs ended up getting the W after five clutch points from Kevin Love in OT, and after, Tristan Thompson, who had a career-high with 35 points, was mobbed by his teammates, as was then shown by the Cavs Twitter account.

This was a really nice way for the Cavs to start a then-six-game road trip, after prior head coach John Beilein‘s accidental “thugs” comment in a team film session and Love’s on-floor/on-bench issues shortly before that, in particular. Beilein has since stepped down as Cleveland’s head coach and been re-assigned to an unspecified role with the team, though, which was clearly for the best, and Bickerstaff has taken over as the head coach and has done a really solid job.

Still, what stuck from this one was TT’s outstanding play for much of this one against a really tough matchup in Drummond, and this was a very much-needed victory for the Wine and Gold at the time.

With it appearing that this could very well be the expiring Thompson’s closing time with the Cavs, whether or not the season does eventually resume, one thing’s for certain: if this is it the near-end with TT being a Cav, it was quite a last hurrah.

In terms of the second-most entertaining game thus far when it comes to the Cavaliers this season, a comeback fans are very familiar with comes to mind.

#2: February 24 – A 125-119 comeback W over the Miami Heat

The second-most entertaining Cavaliers game to this point of this season was a thrilling fourth quarter comeback against the Miami Heat on February 24.

This one was really, really ugly through three quarters, and that was with Miami without Jimmy Butler (personal reasons) and Tyler Herro (ankle injury). Through the end of three, the Cavs were down 19 points, and were in desperate need of a spark.

That’s when Bickerstaff rolled out a funky lineup of Garland-Kevin Porter Jr.–Larry Nance Jr. (at the 3 position!)-Love-Thompson, and that group got after it right away, and it was evident that Nance was bothering Miami sharpshooter Duncan Robinson in a big way. Robinson had been scorching the Cavs in the first half of this one, with 15 points, all from three-point range, and while he didn’t score in the third, Miami was still controlling this one and cruising along.

From there, Nance didn’t give Robinson any air space, and at the other end, was a mismatch inside at 245 pounds compared to the more slender Robinson, as Nance got a few big interior buckets on post-ups, and Larry eventually would have 16 points on eight-of-11 shooting, to go with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

While Bam Adebayo did end up having 22 points, 13 rebounds, a remarkable nine assists, to go with four blocks and three steals, per ESPN, Thompson, a bench contributor (and has been since the deadline when he and Drummond have both been able to go), and the Cavs were much more physical against Adebayo in the fourth.

Bam ended up having six turnovers in this one, and more aggressiveness defensively against him and Goran Dragic, who had been killing Cleveland and had 22 points and six assists off the bench, in the fourth was huge in turning the tide of this game.

All in all, the Cavaliers conceded just 12 fourth quarter points, and what then happened at the other end, when Cleveland had 31 points, was most notably the KPJ show.

He ended up having a career-high 30 points in this one, and as KJG’s Corey Casey highlighted, Porter had half of those points in the fourth quarter/OT. Plus, then in overtime, Love, KPJ and the Wine and Gold would grind it out, winning that stretch 14-8 and capping what would go on to be the tied for the biggest fourth quarter comeback in team history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Darius Garland played well in the fourth quarter stretch, too, and ended up having 14 points, seven assists, two steals and a block in the game, but again, this performance by Porter was unreal to watch, and it was understandable why Fox Sports Ohio re-aired it on Saturday.

This one also showed how KPJ is at least at the moment, arguably the Cavs’ most promising young player moving forward.

So what’s been the most entertaining Cavaliers game thus far of 2019-20 going into the NBA’s season suspension? To me, it was way back.

#1: Oct. 30 – A 117-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls

Lastly, the most entertaining game of the 2019-20 season thus far to me was way back on Oct. 30 in a 117-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

This was a true back and forth affair, as there times I’d have thought the Bulls would pull away eventually.

There were also a few times when I thought Kevin Love and the Cavs would pull away, but both young teams hung in there, and slugged it out. Both had great balance, too.

The Bulls had six players in double-figures, which included 14 points and five rebounds from Thaddeus Young off the bench, and the Cavaliers had similar scoring balance, and were led by Tristan Thompson, who had 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting, to go with 10 rebounds, a career-high five blocks and two assists, per ESPN.

It was an especially close game between two teams playing a bunch of young pieces big minutes, again though, as the Bulls at one point had a 10-point lead and Cleveland at one point had an eight-point lead, but it came down to the last few minutes, and eventually, the Wine and Gold got a huge play from TT involving a monster block of Wendell Carter Jr. with 42.8 seconds left after a Love mid-range shot at the other end.

Then Collin Sexton, who had 18 points in the game, had one of the best posters of the NBA season with 28.5 ticks left to put the Cavs up 112-106, and with his off left hand over Carter, too!

This sort of play from Collin again showed me that he’s going to bring it every single night, and it demonstrated how Sexton is truly fearless.

Back at this point, I was all aboard the Beilein train as far as him seeming to be the right guy for leading the Cavaliers in this rebuild, but as we now know, that wasn’t the case. This one was still a really exciting time to be a Cavs fan, though, as after the victory, Cleveland was a respectable 2-2, and I now feel it is a fun time again with Bickerstaff at the helm, even with the team currently just 19-46.

Alright, so that wraps up the three most entertaining games to me thus far in this 2019-20 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers at this time in which the league is on hiatus until further notice.

So what’s been the three most entertaining games to you of the current season to this point, Cavs fans?

Feel free to let us know in the comments section, on Twitter (@KJG_NBA) or on Facebook (@fansidedkjg). Thanks as always, readers!