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1 stud, 1 dud in Cavs road loss to the Warriors

By Josh Cornelissen

Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images /
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Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images /

1 stud in Cavs’ loss to the Warriors: Half-court Defense

The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished 25th, 30th and 30th the last three seasons in team defense, which makes this season’s jaunt into the Top 10 that much more remarkable. Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and company have locked down opposing teams, walling off the paint and throwing a variety of looks at teams. J.B. Bickerstaff has prioritized defense in the starting lineup, favoring Isaac Okoro and now Lamar Stevens over offensive options.

It’s working, as the Cavs have the third-best defense in the league behind only Golden State and Phoenix. They wielded that defense like a club, completely shutting down one of the Top 10 offenses in the league. Golden State couldn’t get to the rim with consistency (outside of that nasty Klay Thompson dunk) and were cold from outside.

Mobley was everywhere, Stevens was a lockdown matchup for whoever he faced, and Dylan Windler was solid off the bench. The Warriors shot just 40.2 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from the 3-point line. Cleveland did this without fouling, sending just four Warriors to the line all game for a total of 10 free-throw attempts.

The Warriors clearly wanted to get Thompson involved in the offense, and the Cavs did a great job of snuffing that out. Stephen Curry in particular had five turnovers, two of which were attempted passes to Thompson that the Cavs jumped on for a steal.

The Warriors were held to just 96 points, but even that is overselling how they performed against this nasty Cavaliers defense. Cleveland’s defense put itself in position to steal a game on the road against a title contender.