1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in loss to Lakers on Monday
Cavs dud from L to Lakers on Monday: Caris LeVert
After being acquired via trade from the Indiana Pacers, Caris LeVert played just four games for Cleveland before going down with a foot injury. LeVert missed roughly a month, and Monday night’s game against the Lakers was just his fifth game back in the rotation.
LeVert is averaging 26 minutes in March and is scoring 11 points per game. What is concerning is LeVert is connecting on just 39 percent of his shots this month and is connecting on only 33.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
LeVert is a capable playmaker with the ball in his hands, as he is averaging four assists per game over his last five games. However, he will sometimes dribble too much and gets himself into trouble.
Against the Lakers, LeVert’s biggest issue was staying out of foul trouble. Caris was on the court for just 16 minutes and did connect on 4-of-7 shots but turned the ball over twice and committed five fouls.
The injury to LeVert came at a terrible time, as now he only has 10 more regular season games to get into a rhythm before the playoffs begin. If the Cavs are going to make any noise in the postseason, LeVert will have to be that secondary playmaker next to Garland we all envisioned when the trade first went down.
LeVert needs to let the game come to him, as he has shown plenty of times he can take over a game with his scoring ability.
Cleveland is still one game up on Toronto for the 6th and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While the loss to the Lakers was a tough one to watch, it is only one game. The defense is undoubtedly a concern, but some of that poor defense can be attributed to Jarrett Allen being out and Mobley playing just 27 minutes due to foul concerns.
The Cavaliers have no time to hang their heads, as their next two games are crucial. Cleveland faces Toronto (7th place in the East) on Thursday and then the Chicago Bulls (5th place in the East) on Saturday night.
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Winning those games will be vital to the Cavaliers holding onto their guaranteed playoff spot.