Cavs: 1 stud, 1 dud from a standout win over the Clippers

Cavs: 1 dud from standout win over Clippers – 3-point shooting

The Cleveland Cavaliers came into Wednesday night shooting just 30.3 percent from 3-point range, one of the worst marks in the league. Their offseason acquisition Lauri Markkanen was part of the problem, hitting only 26.9 percent of his triples.

The Cavs somehow went down in that category despite the win, hitting only three of their twenty 3-point attempts against the Clippers. Markkanen was 0-for-4, Collin Sexton was 0-for-4, and Ricky Rubio was 0-for-3. In fact only Darius Garland and Kevin Love even hit a triple.

Somehow the Detroit Pistons have only hit 22.5 percent of their 3-point shots to rank last, but the Cavs are firmly in 29th place with a 28.2 percent average. That number will absolutely go up over a larger sample size, but the Cavs have to be concerned that they will continue to hover around the bottom of the league. After finishing 30th in 3-point percentage last season, bringing in Markkanen and having Garland and Love healthy was supposed to help improve that number.

So far, not so good. The Cavs missed open looks and they missed contested looks. Sexton’s shot selection continues to be more confident than his actual stroke. Garland has to take more than just three attempts in a game, but he has been somewhat hesitant since coming back from injury. Looking forward this will be a major storyline to track.

Overall the shooting was the one bugaboo in an otherwise encouraging night. The Cavs are now 3-2, with three wins over expected playoff teams, and Friday face off against a lackluster Los Angeles Lakers squad. This young team is winning on defense and hustle, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.