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

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won three games in a row for the first time since February of last season, when the Cavs won four straight games. From the end of that small winning streak until the start of this one, they went 8-31, a team riddled with injuries and youth.

Now they look like a team stocked with talent and determination, a team that can go toe-to-toe with anyone. The Cavs went into STAPLES Center and beat the LA Clippers 92-79 on Wednesday night, a dominant defensive performance against a team that ranked fourth in defensive rating a season ago. The Clippers hadn’t scored this few points since their third game of last season.

The Cavs have won three-in-a-row after stomping the LA Clippers. What stands out from the standout victory?

Whenever a team wins comfortably against a favorite (Clippers were something between 7.5 and 9.0 favorites heading into the game) there are plenty of places to spread praise. We will narrow things down to one highlight and one lowlight to go a little deeper.

Before doing that, however, we have to shout out the entire team defensive effort. The Clippers shot just 35.6 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point range. Evan Mobley was once again everywhere shutting off drives and scaring guards into poor shots. Jarrett Allen was big inside. Lamar Stevens came into the rotation in the absence of Isaac Okoro and was +15 on the night defending the Clippers’ talented perimeter players.

The Cavs’ defense was truly a “stud” tonight, but we’ll look at the player who carried the offense and then the reason why the offense had to be carried.

Cavs: 1 stud from standout win over Clippers – Collin Sexton

Last season Collin Sexton was among the top 20 scorers in the NBA, averaging 24.3 points per game as he took on a significant role as their primary scorer. This year a more egalitarian attack has lessened his shot load significantly, and going into the Clippers’ game he was averaging just 19 points per game.

That average went up as Sexton dropped 26 points on an impressive 12-for-20 shooting night, impressive because the Cavs as a team shot just 40.7 percent, or just 34.4 percent when you take out Sexton’s points. The Clippers smothered the Cavs in the half-court and limited them to 16 fast break points. Here are two of them:

Sexton had his impact in every phase of the game. When the half-court offense bogged down he was there, creating offense by attacking the rim — and the glass. In one insane segment the Cavs got three offensive rebounds in a row, the final one by “Young Bull” who went it home.

He set the tone right away, harrying Eric Bledsoe on the opening possession, stealing the ball, and setting up a Lauri Markkanen shot that missed (more on that later) but which rookie Evan Mobley slammed home. What did he do on the first possession of the second quarter? The offensive rebound off of a Lamar Stevens miss and another dunk. He hustled on every single play, bringing an infectious intensity that held up the entire team. His night wasn’t perfect, as he had five turnovers and just one assist, but he was a team-high +17 and the reason the Cavs won this game.

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.