1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in gutsy win at Hornets on Friday

Cavs dud: Defensive rebounding

In a game where there a share of runs back-and-forth, the dud to me for Cleveland over the course of it was defensive rebounding.

Allen himself I have to give his deal of credit, as he grabbed the lion’s share of those for the Wine and Gold, with an even split of 11 of his 22 boards on the defensive glass. Love chipped in, too, for what it’s worth.

However, the group themselves needed to help him more there, clearly, as Charlotte had 17 offensive boards, and while Mason Plumlee had a few on Allen himself, I thought there were a number of other instances where others weren’t in great position to secure those.

It wasn’t necessarily all on them, but there were a few sequences where Evan Mobley and Dean Wade weren’t in solid position to help on the defensive glass nearly how they’re capable, and credit to the Hornets for generating their share of tip-outs. A number of situations led to Charlotte getting open perimeter looks, or ball-swings leading to cutting opportunities for the likes of Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., Miles Bridges and others.

That’s part of the reason why, along with stagnant play at the other end for some stretches, Charlotte had a 34-14 run in the fourth quarter at one point, and took a three-point lead with 46.2 seconds left.

This is an issue that the Cavs, even when relatively healthy, have had as a lingering problem, and it’s hurt their defense, often after quality initial efforts.

Even still, though, whether or not Cleveland coughed up a 17-point lead in the fourth, regardless of a ridiculous bench technical sequence resulting in a gifted Charlotte four-point play late after a dead whistle scenario, the Cavs pulled it out. The league/officials did express how that was a miscommunication, too, as a side note. Oh well.

And Kevin Love’s two clutch free throws with 1.2 seconds left after an offensive rebound shot attempt got the job done 102-101, and this was a quality win for Cleveland, who hopes to get back on track. What a gutsy effort from the group, who found a way here, and what a career game from Allen.

That was an All-Star performance at that from the Fro.