The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the make-or-break portion of their season, and after running off to a fast season start and climbing the rankings in the Eastern Conference, they are squarely in the grasp of reality and are starting to fall back down to Earth. The Cavs ran out to a big lead against the second-place Philadelphia 76ers at the beginning of the game on Friday night. They scored 42 points in the first quarter and led by 21 in the first half but couldn’t stave off Philly’s comeback and eventually bowed down to them 125-119.
The Cavs now have slipped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings and have the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets eyeing them and the Cavaliers could fall out of the playoff picture sooner than later if they can’t get things corrected.
After this latest loss, fans of the Wine and Gold seem to be split on what we saw in that one. While the team did seem to play with more vigor they still couldn’t hold on and put the 76ers away when they had many opportunities to do so.
That second half collapse may have also had to do with the Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff running his eight-man rotation (which has often been what he’s gone with) into the ground once again and not making needed adjustments. The team looked gassed again after putting up a valiant fight, but the outcome of the contest could have been different with some well-needed substitutions in crunch time.
Despite that issue, several players played well while there were a couple of others that really had a poor game. Isaac Okoro played well especially early, as he finished with a season-high 22 points on 7-of-8 shots as he kept attacking the rim. Kevin Love started out well, coming off the bench and scoring 10 points in the first half. Fellow bench player Cedi Osman also had a nice game going for 20 points in 26 minutes, and has been playing well in recent weeks.
On the other hand, big man Lauri Markkanen was off again and only scored six points in 17 minutes. He only attempted one three-pointer on the night which he missed. And why Bickerstaff refuses to insert forward Dean Wade in for Markkanen off the bench is still a big mystery. Wade can shoot the three-pointer like Markkanen and has better ball-handling skills to drive to the rim, but we’ll leave that discussion for another day.
Anyway, we’ll get into the stud and dud for the Cavs from this one.
Cavs stud: Darius Garland
The biggest stud in the game for the Cavs was Darius Garland, who again put-up All-Star numbers. He finished with 26 points and had a career-best 19 assists and kept the team in the lead for most of the game. The assists he was making were outstanding all night long.
Now, he did pick up a technical foul for arguing a non-call on fellow teammate Isaac Okoro as he was driving to the basket and he did have five turnovers, but all in all, it was another game where you realize how valuable he is to this team’s chances at moving into the postseason.
The back issues he’s been dealing are still very worrisome and the fact that his coach played him 43 minutes in the loss speaks to this real problem for the team. The Cavaliers are struggling to find consistent replacements for Garland or to play alongside him in the guard role, and that’s troubling.
Brandon Goodwin only got four minutes of playing time in this game, and Rajon Rondo and Caris LeVert are still both out with injuries. Without those players, the team is going to have a problem. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery; fortunately, it seems both should be back soon, but we’ll see.
In the meantime, Garland’s time on the court is precious and he’s definitely become a star in the league this season. His efforts, like in this game, are a big part of this reversal of a season for the Wine and Gold. He’s worth the price of admission, Cavs fans. Enjoy the show he puts on because you’re watching a real talented and growing superstar.
Cavs dud: Evan Mobley
The rookie big man, who’s really been one of the main reasons the Cavs are where they are this season, continues to be struggling at this point in the season. It’s as if Evan Mobley has hit a wall and can’t get back up.
Though he’s still playing hard and with effort, his shots seem off right now, and his production has dipped post-All-Star break. His shots are flat. He’s not using his legs to get a better shot and his confidence seems a bit shaken. He had the task of trying to defend 76ers new star James Harden at times and unfortunately, Harden used his tricks of the trade to draw fouls on Mobley and others throughout the night that added to the big man’s frustration on defense.
In 32 minutes in this game, Mobley only added seven points and four rebounds. He didn’t have a field goal until the second half. He had a few open looks too from inside the lane and outside the three-point line that both were misses because he wasn’t using his legs and the shots were both flat and off.
For a rookie like Mobley, having only played one college season a year ago at USC, having played now 55 games seems to have caught up to him. He’s not reached double figures in scoring in the last two games and the last 13 games he’s missed double figures in points six times. He has a 14.5-point scoring average on the year so he’s definitely not being as consistent as he was in the first half of the season in which he was involved.
Let’s see how the team bounces back against the Toronto Raptors when the Wine and Gold return to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday. Every game now is vital, and this will be another game filled with pressure-packed moments.