1 stud, 1 dud from Cavs stumbling loss Friday to Heat

1 dud from Cavs loss to Heat: Darius Garland

At first glance it may seem unkind to label Darius Garland as a dud. The All-Star point guard led the team in scoring with 24 points and chipped in 10 assists. Even more impressively he was a monstrous 15-of-16 from the free-throw line, career highs in both makes and attempts. His penetration against the Heat defense was all that kept the Cavs in the game offensively at times.

Even so, Garland gave back most of his points in other aspects of the game. He totaled ten assists, but he also tallied seven turnovers. Part of that was the active Heat defense, but it was also the result of poor decision-making from Garland, and the accuracy on his passes was rough. He clearly missed Allen’s presence inside, turning the ball over four different times trying to hit Evan Mobley or Lauri Markkanen for lob passes.

Just as bad was Garland’s shooting. One can do the math from the stats in the first paragraph; 15 points on free throws and just 24 total meant an inefficient night from the field. Garland shot just 4-of-17 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He couldn’t find any consistency, and his floater absolutely refused to fall. Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler played excellent defense, but even when Garland sprung free he couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

Finally, there is his defense. If anyone knows the number to the hotel the Cavs stayed at in Miami, please call and ask that they ship Garland’s defense back to Cleveland; clearly he forgot to bring it to the arena. The Heat routinely worked to get Garland switched onto their lead ball-handlers, and then abused him with both speed and strength. Butler would back him down and force Mobley to help, then hit Adebayo for open shots. Tyler Herro did much of the same knifing past him, finishing with 22 points off the bench.

It was a tough loss on the front-end of a brutal back-to-back; the Cavs immediately flew to Chicago to take on the Bulls tonight. This team will continue to fight, but they will need more consistent performances from their young stars to ensure they stay clear of the play-in. On Friday night, the Miami Heat were too deep, too talented, too good.