One stud and one dud for Cavs in brutal loss to Jazz on Sunday

I started to get a weird feeling as the final clock his 0.0 on the Cleveland Cavaliers scoreboard yesterday in the their game versus the Utah Jazz. However, I won’t lie that the loss stung a bit, and I was disappointed in the final possession of the 109-108 loss to the loss. That said, usually around this time of year I start feeling disappointed about the Cleveland Browns.

It was nearly a year ago that the Browns played the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. It was a back-and-forth game between the two interdivisional rivals, but the Ravens pulled out a 47-42 win. However, I expected to feel disappointed this time this year, because of the Browns. But, in no way did I think that I would be this disappointed and bummed about a Cleveland Cavalier loss before Christmas, when the rest of the sports world kicks off the NBA season. Even still, while I was disappointed, I was also hopeful.

Without Collin Sexton, and with Isaac Okoro not being able to hit water if he jumped out of a boat, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Ricky Rubio willed the Cavs to within one point of the Jazz with only a couple of seconds remaining. Cleveland at one point tied the game at 97 in the fourth, despite being down 97-82 in the same stanza, as our own John Suchan highlighted. That was impressive.

In reality, Darius Garland took a late deep three that bounced around the rim, but eventually fell to the floor. I don’t believe in moral victories, but there is a lot you can take away from the Cavaliers performance yesterday, and on top of that what options could they explore in the future to make this roster a real playoff contender. But, before we get into all of that, let’s take a look at our stud and our dud from yesterday’s game.