1 stud and 1 dud for the Cavs in their loss to the Rockets

Just one week ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the talk of the NBA world. The Wine and Gold were fresh off of a 16-point win against the defending champions in the Milwaukee Bucks and had vaulted to third place in the Eastern Conference.

Fast forward a week, and the Cavaliers have dropped two of their last three games, with those losses coming to the lowly Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets, who combined don’t have as many wins as the Cavaliers.

However, Cleveland has played their last two games without rising star Darius Garland, who is currently dealing with lower back soreness.

Without having the dynamic playmaking ability of Garland out on the floor, the Cavaliers offense has noticeably struggled to maintain consistency. Against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, the Wine and Gold scored just 93 points and last night, they put up 104 points against Houston.

While two-way contributor Brandon Goodwin has been a pleasant surprise for the Cavaliers the past few weeks, and Rajon Rondo has been a solid veteran presence, you cannot replace what Garland has provided this season.

Cleveland’s offense last night did manage to hit over 50 percent of their shots, while Houston shot under 48 percent. But, the biggest downfall for the Cavaliers against the Rockets was the fact that they only made 55 percent of their free throws (15-of-27), and they committed 19 turnovers.

Another factor throughout the game on Wednesday night was the plethora of foul calls. Overall there were 50 fouls between the two teams, and the Cavaliers struggled to get into a rhythm at times due to some of their key players being in foul trouble.

Overall, there shouldn’t be a ton of overreaction for the Cavs’ minor struggles this week. They are still 10 games over .500 and will hopefully get Garland back soon, along with Lauri Markkanen in the not-too-distant future from a high ankle sprain.

But for now, let’s get to one of the bright spots of last night’s game in Houston.