One stud and one dud for Cavs in Wednesday’s beatdown of Bulls

Don’t look now but if the NBA Playoffs started today, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be making the short six hour trip to, ironically, the Windy City, where they would face the Chicago Bulls in the first round. Well if Wednesday’s game showed us anything, it’s that the Cavs might be very happy finishing in seventh place in the Eastern Conference as long as they get to take on the Bulls in the first round. Well if last night was a preview for the playoffs in the spring, I think Cleveland fans will be pleasantly surprised with their chances.

Granted, I’m not glossing over how Chicago was without several players because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and most notably, DeMar DeRozan. Alex Caruso was out with a hamstring injury, too, and obviously, those are crucial players. That said, the Cavs did still win in convincing fashion, and it’s not as if Cleveland hasn’t had its share of injuries throughout the season already.

On Wednesday night, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley combined to score 40 points, as the Cavs downed the second-place Bulls, regardless of the absences, 115-92. Garland rebounded from a tough shooting night in Cleveland’s loss on Monday at the Milwaukee Bucks, and was the star of the night individually. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and dished out six assists to lead the Cavaliers to victory.

However, Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio were pivotal off the bench, combining for 22 points in the game. But if you watched the game last night, there was one clear takeaway from the game, and that will be the stud of the night, which was the Cavaliers’ fantastic three-point shooting.