With the NFL’s Wild-Card weekend taking up nearly all of the long weekend, it’s almost as if the surging Cleveland Cavaliers took a back seat. Well, this past MLK Day afternoon they did their best to put that idea to rest.
In a matchup with the Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets, the Cavs pulled out a huge win 114-107. Darius Garland led the way for the Cavaliers, recording his second double-double in as many games. He’s also recorded a double-double in four of the last five Cavalier games. Isaac Okoro was a boost on the wing, and he finished with 15 points, shooting a very efficient 5-of-7 from the field. Rookie Evan Mobley led the team in minutes, and finished with 37. He scored 12 points, and grabbed six rebounds, while also blocking one shot.
However, finishing perfect from the field and the foul line, was Jarrett Allen, who’s becoming more and more of a steal from the James Harden trade last season. Kevin Love was vital off the bench once again, dropping 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting.
Overall the win on Monday, combined with a loss from the Philadelphia 76ers, bumped the Cavs up to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They are now only two games back of the Chicago Bulls, who are currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
If you told most Cavs fans that they would be in fourth place in the Eastern Conference in the middle of January, they would have spit out their coffee and laughed in your face. The only real let-down of the day, was Cedi Osman, who was 0-of-6 from the three-point line. It’s a bit troubling, considering how well he’s shot for much of the season. He’s now 0-of-8 from three in the Cavs last two games, and his season three-point percentage has dipped below 39 percent on the year.
With that being said, the Cavs are playing fantastic this season, and are actually very fun to watch. Now, let’s take a look at one stud, and one dud from Monday’s huge win.
Cavs stud: Defensive execution at the end of the game
Sure I could be cliche here and say the whole starting lineup deserves the stud award from this past afternoon. To tell you the truth, I thought the same thing until the game started to wind down. We’ve seen the Cavs blow leads throughout the season, as it is a trait of a young team. However, down the stretch, the Cavs defense was stifling.
Other than an easy Kyrie Irving layup with around 55 seconds to remain in the game, the Nets were scoreless for the final minute. The key moment in the game came with about 24 seconds left in it. Lauri Markkanen played great defense on James Harden, forcing him to give it up to Irving. And from there, Markkanen’s pressure forced an errant pass that was picked up by Okoro and slammed home at the other end. It wasn’t the only moment of some great defense, but it was the most important.
While the Cavaliers have dipped in their overall team defense, they still sit at ninth place in the NBA, which is a hell of a lot higher than they were finishing out last season. Even still, when it comes to defensive rating, the Cavaliers sit behind only the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns. Their rating is 105.0, which is 1.4 points more than the fourth-place team.
Outside of the rating, the Cavs are an above average team in terms of blocks and steals. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has preached defense the entire season, and it looks like it’s continuing to pay dividends.
Cavs dud: Cedi Osman’s three-point shot
As I briefly mentioned earlier, Cedi Osman has been in a bit of a slump of late. He hasn’t made a three in his last eight tries, and today that trend continued. It’s becoming more clear that Cedi Osman might need a lesser role on the team, especially if Dylan Windler keeps capitalizing on the minutes he’s getting. Windler finished with nine points, while shooting 3-of-4 from the field.
Granted, Osman will always have some sort of role on this team, as long as he’s on the roster. However, if he can’t start connecting on his shots, he’s going to continue to see lesser and lesser roles, which, might end up helping the Cavaliers in the long run. Everyone knows that, “shooters shoot,” but sometimes a player has shot too much.
Overall, this is a huge victory for the Cavs, though. Before this game, the Cavs were 0-of-6 against the Warriors, Suns, and Nets so far this season. Now they are 1-6, which is slightly better, but they will need to step up in a big way if they make the playoffs. Regardless, they have had some success beating the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Overall against the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Toronto Raptors, the Cavaliers are 5-3 this season, with a 3-0 record between Toronto and Chicago. A few of those contests involved them playing shorthanded squads, but the Cavaliers did still take care of business, and they have against other tough competition at various points.
Oddly enough, up next for the Cavs are the Bulls in Chicago. As of this writing, the Bulls are still in first place in the Eastern Conference, so getting a win against them on Wednesday night would be a huge step in the right direction.
They can enjoy this win for a couple of hours, but they better be ready to play against the Bulls, or they could get run out of the gym.