1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in win over Wizards on Friday

Just last Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their five-game losing streak with a home win against the Orlando Magic. Fast forward seven days, and the Cavaliers are currently riding a four-game win streak.

Last night, their win against the Washington Wizards gave the Cavaliers their first road trip sweep against .500-plus teams for the first time since 1975!

It’s no surprise that the return of Evan Mobley has undoubtedly helped the Cavaliers, as he and Jarrett Allen give the Wine and Gold a formidable big-man duo.

A key to the Cavs success last night over the Washington Wizards was their effort on the defensive side of the ball. Cleveland held the Wizards starters to a combined 16-44 (36.4 percent) clip, and only two Washington starters scored in double figures. Overall the Wizards starting five scored 39 points.

Washington’s starters were also a combined minus-120 in the plus-minus department. Looking at Bradley Beal, the Cavaliers made his life rough last night, as the Washington All-Star was just 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and scored just 14 points.

Cleveland’s defense has been a pleasant surprise this young season, as the Wine and Gold rank 3rd in the NBA with a defensive rating of 104.2. The Cavs also allow opponents to shoot just 32.8 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks sixth in the NBA.

The Cavaliers have plenty of offensive talent even with Collin Sexton out for the year, but the young core is seeing the benefit of giving equal effort on both sides of the ball.

While there were several worthy candidates for last night’s stud nominee, there was one player whose performance stood out above the rest.