The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. For both teams it meant the first true example of reworked rotations after offseason moves. The Grizzlies came into the season with much higher expectations than the Cavs, but Cleveland absolutely held its own in this game.
On the road, starting a rookie, against a playoff team from a season ago that should be even better this year, the Cavs were down just one point with under two minutes to go. They had clawed back from a double-digit deficit to be right there at the end before Memphis ripped off an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach. The final score was 132 – 121, but the game was much closer than the final score.
The Cavs hung in there against the Memphis Grizzlies in their season opener before eventually losing. Who are 1 stud and 1 dud from the game?
The key development for the game was that J.B. Bickerstaff went away from his expected starting lineup, instead deploying the “Triple Towers” look he experimented with in the preseason. That slots Lauri Markkanen at small forward alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. That lineup at times looked great, and other times struggled to do anything well.
Who was the team’s standout performer on Wednesday night, and who stood out for their shaky performance? Let’s cut through all of the many storylines and highlight one stud and one dud from the game.