Cavs loss to Clips left bad taste, but roadie has had its share of positives

This Cavs roadie has had its positives, including at the Clips, and Love is making an impact

Even in the Clippers loss, there were encouraging signs, as Donovan Mitchell went nuclear in that game on Monday, as he hit eight-of-11 from three-point range, and so far on the year, he’s 37-of-82 from three, en route to a 45.1 percent clip. The shot-making and three-level scoring from him has given the whole team more confidence, too, it seems.

Also in that game, Kevin Love was tremendous, with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and was a plus-16 in the outing.

There’s going to be some ups and downs for Love as he keeps getting more acclimated, after last season, to his bench role. Regardless, it’s apparent that Love can still knock down shots for the Cavaliers in his minutes, and his ball movement sense and great defensive rebounding makes a world of difference when he’s in there for Cleveland.

We’ve seen that play out on a number of occasions already this season, and on the year, he’s had 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per contest. That was comparable to his last season, when he had 13.6 points and 7.2 boards in 22.5 minutes per outing, and finished as the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year.

So, overall, the Wine and Gold is now 8-2 following a very impressive eight-game win streak, and as they continue to gel, this Cavaliers team should gradually improve as they gain more experience playing with Mitchell.

Keep your chin up, Cavs fans. This team can learn from that Clippers contest, and they surely will. This group is just getting started, and next up, they have a great chance to bounce back on Wednesday at the Sacramento Kings.