The roller coaster ride that was the Cleveland Cavaliers 2021-2022 NBA season came to a screeching halt last night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. In a must-win situation, the Cavs blew a double-digit lead to the Atlanta Hawks in their play-in game to decide the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference, and now all they can do is look towards the offseason.
Trae Young was fantastic in the second half, scoring 32 of his 38 points in the second half. Cleveland’s leading scorer on the night was Lauri Markkanen, who capped off a good season with 26 points. Darius Garland pitched in 21, and Rookie of the Year candidate (and frontrunner, I believe) Evan Mobley had 18.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for Cavalier fans, but there is some good news that comes with the gut-wrenching loss. By missing the playoffs, the Cavs hold onto their first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. It’s not the way they wanted to end the season, but this Cavalier team had a remarkable season. With all that being said, let’s take a look at one stud and one dud from Friday night’s nail-biting loss.
Cavs Stud: Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen put on a show in his final game of the 2022 season. He was on fire to start the game, hitting three three-pointers in the opening minutes of the game. Garland found him early and often to get the big man going, and Markkanen ended the game going 6-for-12 from three-point range, and 10-for-17 from the field.
Markkanen was really the unsung hero of this Cavalier team. Acquired in a sign-and-trade from the Chicago Bulls, he averaged nearly 15 points per game this season, while shooting 36% from deep. When he was acquired, fans wondered how he’d fit with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff came up with a great way to utilize Markkanen’s skills in a big lineup.
At the end of the day, he was a great acquisition, and played a pivotal role in the Cavaliers season.
Cavs Dud: J.B. Bickerstaff
I’m not going to pile on Bickerstaff after one loss. With that being said, it was not his best performance. There were so many questions that needed to be answered after the final buzzer went off. Why didn’t Kevin Love get more minutes considering he’s the only player on the team with real playoff experience? Why was Rajon Rondo in the game for long stretches in the second half? Overall, it was a poor effort from Bickerstaff, as he didn’t make many second half adjustments.
However, I have to give credit to Bickerstaff and his staff for coming up with a way to play this big-heavy lineup, in an NBA that keeps getting smaller and smaller. If Jarrett Allen doesn’t go down from injury on March 6, I can confidently say the Cavs would have been preparing for a playoff matchup this weekend, instead of playing in the play-in.
Overall, it was a great season for the Cavaliers. They proved that they are basically a year ahead in the rebuilding process. They also struck gold by drafting Evan Mobley. It’s not a stretch to thing that Mobley has a chance to be on the NBA’s All-Defense team next season. Hell, he’s good enough to be in the conversation to be the Defensive Player of the Year!
So, yes this loss does sting right now. Blowing a double-digit lead to a team that lost one of their best players to injury in Clint Capela during the game is just unacceptable. The good news is they do keep their first-round draft pick this season, where they should have plenty of intriguing options. The Cavalier pick will likely be in the late-lottery, but crazier things have happened. The Draft Lottery has been very kind to Cleveland over the years. Either way, the Cavs get to add another solid player during the draft.
There’s a lot to look forward to in the future and beyond with such a young team. However, they will have the burden of expectations next season. Hopefully this young team can handle it!