The Cleveland Cavaliers found a way to stick around in games this past week, despite rough circumstances.
As the Cleveland Cavaliers move forward in their 2020-2021 campaign, they continue to surprise.
Cleveland has found ways to win games they shouldn’t, persevere through injuries, and they’ve been avoiding the bottom of the NBA’s barrel with now a record of 5-6.
So how did the Cavs look during this past week, Jan. 4-10, though?
Cleveland went 1-3 this past week after losing to the Orlando Magic twice on Monday and Wednesday, getting a mid-week win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and falling to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
Regarding that, here are three takeaways from the Cavs’ last week of basketball.
The first relates to the performance/effort of Andre Drummond.
#1: Drummond is bringing it every game for the Cavs
There were seemingly a ton of questions surrounding Andre Drummond’s effort and love of basketball coming into the season. Drummond no doubt has his moments of lacking effort, but overall Cleveland should be pleased, and even more so with how banged up the Cavs are.
Drummond, as of Saturday, had extended his Cavs franchise record double-double streak to start a season to 10 after the Milwaukee game, per Cavs Notes (and that’s now 11). And his defensive presence and leadership are coming on a nightly basis.
Upon losing more key players to injury, of which you can view more further details on here, Drummond rose to the occasion. He had 22 points with 15 rebounds in a win at Memphis and 26 points with 24 rebounds in a loss to league contender Milwaukee, albeit Giannis Antetokounmpo was out.
Anyhow, in a week where Andre Drummond could’ve maybe had little to play for, he showed what Cleveland should expect for the rest of the year, if he does stick through that time.
#2: The Cavs defense is more than holding up
Nobody expected Cleveland to take such a large step forward defensively in terms of defensive rating. At 5-6, Cleveland currently has the best defensive rating in the league.
Despite mediocre rebounding numbers, the Cavaliers are creating turnovers and keeping scoring numbers low. Maybe it’s Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff or maybe it’s players buying in. Either way, Cleveland’s defense is trending in the right direction.
#3: Isaac Okoro is making a difference
Isaac Okoro returned to action on Thursday after missing five games due to a left foot sprain and being placed in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol, and that was just in time.
Cleveland lost Dante Exum (high grade right calf strain) for potentially the rest of the first half of the season at Orlando on Monday, Jan. 4, and Collin Sexton (left ankle sprain) has missed the past three games, including two last week.
Okoro came back with fireworks at Memphis, though. In the final minute, Okoro had a chasedown block paired with a late-game dunk to seal the win, and his efforts contributed to winning, in an overall sense. It was tough to have Okoro get injured so early, but fortunately, his return means more of a look at Cleveland’s latest lottery pick.
A 1-3 week probably shouldn’t hold so much insight for Cleveland. This season was going to be different in general, but the Cavs stare down injuries in unforeseen numbers.
Until Cleveland can get fully healthy, this may be a week-by-week season.