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.
Cavs stud: Darius Garland
With Sexton out of the lineup, more was added to the plate of Cleveland’s young up-and-coming point guard Darius Garland. But Garland has responded positively to taking over the reins of the offense.
Over the past 10 games, Garland has taken a step forward. The third-year point guard has averaged 22.3 points per game on 45 percent shooting (34 percent from beyond the arc) in that span. More impressively, Garland is dishing out 7.4 assists per game over the last 10 contests.
Garland’s talent was on full display last night against the Wizards, as he poured in 32 points on 65 percent shooting (5-of-6 from three-point range) and also dished out 10 assists. Garland nearly recorded a triple-double, as he came just two rebounds short of a career first.
One number that was a bit concerning was Garland’s seven turnovers last night, and he did admittedly foul out in that one; one shouldn’t read too much into that, though. Yes, he is still only 21 years old, and he is still developing. Some turnovers will come naturally due to the nature of the position Garland is in as the Cavaliers floor general, and he’s still young.
Garland’s usage percentage is one of the tops in the league over the past 10 games at 28.8 percent, in any case. Of all players who have played in at least eight of the last 10 games, Garland’s usage rate ranks 12th, per NBA.com. For comparison, that ranks higher than players such as James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
But overall, Garland’s performance last night was just the latest example of the leap he is taking in his third season. More performances like that will surely vault Garland into potential consideration for an All-Star bid.
As for last night’s dud, it’s a player that has often ended up in the stud category so far this season.
Cavs dud: Evan Mobley
It feels strange even to type this out, but Evan Mobley, who has had many positive performances this season, didn’t have his best game last night. It is harsh to even label this section as “dud” for Mobley, as the best way to describe it was an off-night for the rookie.
While Mobley didn’t have his best game shooting the ball, going just 3-of-12 overall with six points, he was still productive in other areas of the game. Mobley grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists, and came up with three blocked shots.
There were minor lapses on the defensive end of the floor, but despite that, Mobley stood his ground and fought through some adversity.
Mobley still registered a plus-21 plus-minus clip, despite the subpar scoring effort. It is encouraging that Mobley, even though he didn’t have his best performance, didn’t get too down on himself and hung in there to impact the game in other ways; he’s been a crucial two-way contributor, typically, anyhow.
Mobley is impressively humble and mature despite his talent and status as the third overall pick.
And it was not a fluke Mobley received Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November, and I would expect him to bounce back in the upcoming games for the Wine and Gold.