1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in their loss to the Bulls on Saturday

The Cavs dud from Saturday’s loss to the Bulls: Darius Garland

Garland did not have the best situation in that game at Miami, one of the league’s top defenses, and Dosunmu is a heck of a defender, even for such a young player. Chicago’s team defense, when they’ve been healthier, has really been very good, also, especially on the perimeter.

Ball is still not back, but as we noted, Dosunmu has been impressive defensively, and heading into this one, with inconsistencies around him of late, I thought Garland might have some rough stretches, and given his workload and with how defenses have been keying on him, it was understandable.

Heck, Collin Sexton can relate to having tons of defensive attention, for what it’s worth, and Lauri Markkanen being out due to ankle soreness on Saturday wasn’t exactly a spacing boost for Garland and others.

Either way, though, this was a really tough first half for Garland, who went just 2-of-12 then, and despite having four assists, did have four turnovers that were some damaging ones for the Cavs’ outlook overall. I do have to credit Chicago’s help, and Dosunmu’s ball pressure, too.

On the plus side, Garland did rebound as the game progressed, and I can’t gloss over his 25-point night, and he went 7-of-12 in the second half, while hitting 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He had 19 points in the second half, to that point.

But seven assists to six turnovers in this contest was not what we’re accustomed to from Garland, who hopefully can get back on track soon enough versus the Clippers on Monday. On Saturday night, he was a minus-8.

This Cavaliers squad needs to help him out more too, though, and the team missing some wide open looks at crucial times absolutely didn’t help. Hopefully Markkanen’s ankle soreness, factoring in his prior 11-game absence because of his prior ankle sprain, isn’t a lingering issue.