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.
Cavs: 1 stud from loss to Memphis – Jarrett Allen
Jarrett Allen is an efficient offensive player, one who tends to take most of his shots at the rim and therefore shoots a high percentage from the field. For his career, he has shot 61.4 percent from the field, and 63.3 percent on 2-pointers.
Right now his season field goal percentage sits at a perfect 100 percent, as Allen went 11-for-11 from the field Wednesday night. Against a tough Memphis front line he was able to make space around the rim for a few dunks and a few hooks, and even confidently stepped out to the free-throw line for his improved jumper. The only time he missed a shot was when he was fouled, preserving the night of perfection.
In all Allen scored 25 points, going 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Per ESPN, Allen’s perfect shooting game was the best performance in a season opener since 1954; no other player had gone 10-for-10 or better. What’s even crazier is that Allen has done this before, going 11-for-11 in Cleveland’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in February of last season. He’s hit all of his shots in a game (minimum five shot attempts) a whopping nine times in his career.
Allen was not simply a scorer last night, as his rim protection stood out both positively and negatively. He blocked three shots, including a nasty rejection of Jaren Jackson Jr. early in the 4th quarter. When he was off the court, the combination of Kevin Love, Evan Mobley and Lauri Markkanen did little to defend the rim from attacking Grizzlies.
Final Line: 25 points (11-11 from the field), four rebounds, three steals, three blocks, +5
Cavs: 1 dud from loss to Memphis – Small forward position
We’re discarding the very concept of his column right away and shoehorning an entire position into our “1 dud” framework. The biggest weakness on this team is at the small forward position, which the team attempted to address by drafting Isaac Okoro No. 5 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft (still less than a calendar year ago). Okoro’s defense has been good, especially for a teenager, but offensively his shot has looked broken and he has failed to distinguish himself.
That led to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff moving him to the bench after starting him all of last season and in the preseason. Instead, he started Lauri Markkanen in the aforementioned “Triple Towers” look that saw success in the preseason. It saw inconsistent success, but the takeaway is that this team doesn’t know what to do at the small forward position.
Markkanen shot 4-for-14 from the field, including 2-for-7 from 3-point range. He did pull in nine rebounds, but he was routinely taken advantage of defensively as he allowed multiple Memphis perimeter players to penetrate inside. Against a team with a legitimate star at the small forward position, things could get even worse. His night didn’t get any better when Ja Morant stuffed him at the rim late in the second quarter.
Dylan Windler is the future hope at the position, but he has been limited to just 31 games the past two seasons. What did he do Wednesday night? Nothing, as he was sidelined due to injury yet again. If he can get and stay healthy there is still a path to relevance for Windler: some players injured early can shake that off and play a long career, but others are unable to break free and secure a spot in the league.
Cedi Osman is the veteran backup at the 3, and he started off hot on Wednesday night and ended 5-for-6 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown. The problem is that he surely gave all of that up on the defensive end, where he was atrocious. His ball-handling was incredibly hit-or-miss as well; late in the first quarter he caught a pass in transition and whipped it to Collin Sexton for an assist. Then at the start of the quarter, he had two of the worst turnovers you will see, passes to nowhere that ignited fastbreak points the other way.
There is no savior here; the Cavs have to figure something out at the position from who they have. Markkanen should play better, Okoro should improve, Windler might get healthy. It won’t be as bad as this every night. Yet much of the optimism about this season will be dragged down if the Cavs can’t find a more tenable solution at the 3.
Let’s take a step back, though. It was a solid showing from a young team on opening night, with their newly-paid center playing well and Evan Mobley having a solid showing with 17 points and nine rebounds. They lost, but they were in the game late on the road against a better team. There are worst ways to start the season.