The Cleveland Cavaliers just left the Eastern Time Zone for the first time in a month and flew to Dallas to take on the 4th-place team in the Western Conference, a team with aspirations of contention and a true MVP candidate in Luka Doncic. They flew into Dallas…and absolutely pummeled the Mavericks.
In the end, it was a 114-96 victory that wasn’t even as close as that score sounds. The lead was 11 at halftime and 22 entering the 4th, and the Mavericks couldn’t find any way to chip away until both coaches cleared their benches. Luka Doncic had a triple-double but shot just 2-for-10 from 2-point range against the Cavs’ length, and none of his teammates scored more than 14. The Mavs were simply smothered.
The Cavs went into Dallas and pummeled the Mavericks. Who stands out as a stud and dud from the impressive win on Monday night?
It was a dominant team effort, with all five starters plus Kevin Love scoring in double figures. Isaac Okoro hit a 3-pointer! Ricky Rubio scored just seven but was tied with Jarrett Allen with a +30 plus/minus. Evan Mobley was everywhere on defense, blocking just two shots but altering a number of others.
We’ll attempt to narrow things down to highlight one “stud” from the game, and then get creative to find one “dud” from this blowout victory.
1 stud from Cavs pummeling of Mavs: Laurrett Markkallen
Alright, I’m cheating here to squeeze two players into my single “stud” slot, but both Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen deserve massive praise for how they absolutely dominated the Dallas Mavericks last night. The Mavs are a team that plays big itself, starting the 7’3″ Kristaps Porzingis at power forward. They were helpless all night against the one-two punch of Allen and Markkanen.
First, major props to Lauri Markkanen for rediscovering his shot and showing what it looks like to have a 7-foot marksman bombing away from outside. He shot 5-of-9 from deep, oblivious to contests from shorter players, helping to blow the game open with a few third-quarter bombs.
Inside Jarrett Allen was destroying the Mavs’ interior defenders, going through them for rebounds and inside shots. Much of his damage came in the pick-and-roll, where the Dallas defense was stretched past its breaking point trying to contain Darius Garland or Ricky Rubio at the point of attack, stop the best lob finisher in the league this season in Allen, and stop a 7-foot sniper in Markkanen from having any airspace outside.
Allen finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and three assists of his own. He was his usual dominant self inside, forcing the Mavs away from their desired shots. Perhaps more surprising was how Markkanen played defensively, often matching up with Luka Doncic and preventing the MVP candidate from getting clean looks. Doncic had to settle for a longball often, which went in but is not his best work. Isolation 3-pointers also do little to get the rest of the team going.
Together, the two big men signed to long-term deals this summer absolutely destroyed the Dallas Mavericks, breaking them inside and outside. The rest of the league better watch out.
1 dud from Cavs pummeling of Mavs: Vegas oddsmakers
Going into last night’s game, the Dallas Mavericks were 10-8, with a -1.6 net rating (i.e. they were being outscored on the season by an average of 1.6 points per 100 possessions). Net rating is usually a more solid indicator of a team’s true quality than pure record, as teams that win big but lose close are better than teams that win close but lose big. The Mavericks all season have been in the second category.
Going into last night’s game, the Cleveland Cavaliers were 10-10 with a +0.2 net rating despite a tower of injuries. They played tough opponents close to the end even in losses, and they had a compelling list of victories. By any metric other than preseason expectations or (just barely) current record, the Cavs looked like the better team.
Then why were the Mavericks favored by SEVEN POINTS last night? Even factoring in home court advantage that suggested that the Mavericks were a great team facing a mediocre one. That was simply not the case, which looked obvious going in and now looks inexplicable with the Cavs absolutely destroying the Mavericks.
I called the oddsmakers out in the preview of the game, predicting a Cavaliers victory. The Cavaliers have proven themselves able to hang with and beat anyone, especially at something close to full strength. It’s time for Vegas, the media and the general public to adjust their preseason expectations and recognize that the Cleveland Cavaliers are a good team. Not a great one, and maybe not even a good enough one to make the playoffs in a loaded East. But they are 14th in the league in net rating, 10th in SRS (net rating balanced with strength of opponent) and are one game out of sixth place in the East. They had the better player at four positions last night and at head coach. Put some respect on their name!
The Cavs notched a great win Monday night, taking down an opponent many view as a contender in the West. They slowed an MVP candidate and flummoxed his teammates, and while help came from everywhere, they especially beat Dallas down with their towering pair of newly-signed bigs playing inside and out. Next up: Miami.