There’s just something special about home cooking, isn’t there? The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back after only their second home loss of the season to put up a 110-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Saturday night.
That loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night was definitely a disappointing one, given how the Cavs fell on their faces in the closing moments late. But, in a credit to them, they responded on Saturday night, and the Cavaliers got the job done. The win solidified their spot as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, and improved their home record to an astounding 12-2, which is tied for the best in the entire NBA with the Golden State Warriors.
The two big men down low did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Cavaliers, with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen both contributing 21 points on the night, and they combined for 23 rebounds. Caris LeVert had a strong night filling in for the ailing Donovan Mitchell. LeVert led the team in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led both teams in scoring with 23, but it wasn’t enough for the lowly Thunder who dropped to 11-15 on the season. Second-year guard Josh Giddey was impressive for Oklahoma City as well, finishing with a double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds).
Overall the Cavaliers improved to 17-10 on the season, with some tough tests upcoming before Christmas. Before we look ahead, let’s take a look at two studs and one concerning dud moving forward for J.B. Bickerstaff and the Cavaliers.
Cavs studs: Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen
Boy, it sure does make a difference when Jarrett Allen is healthy and in the lineup. At the tail end of last year Allen had to miss time due to a broken finger.
It’s a bit much to say the Cavs fell apart without him down the stretch, but it’s not too much. They were 8-13 without him last year, and it really hampered their playoff chances. This year when Allen is in the starting lineup, the Cavaliers are 8-4.
Last night Allen was great on the offensive end. He was finishing off lobs from Darius Garland, a player he has outstanding chemistry on the floor with, and even Evan Mobley. Allen was a terrific 7-of-9 from the field and 7-of-13 from the free throw line.
While shooting just over 50% from the line isn’t great, getting there 13 times definitely had a positive effect on the outcome of the game for the Cavaliers. However, Allen wasn’t without help from his frontline teammate in Mobley.
It seems like every game that Evan Mobley shows more offensively than he did in the last; he’s seemingly just scratching the surface on that end. Saturday night he not only had 21 points, but he was spreading it around. Mobley was 8-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. If he continues to shoot 3-6 three-pointers per game, it’s only going to help the Cavaliers, especially when their without one of their key playmakers at times (Donovan Mitchell).
With that being said, maybe the most impressive thing Mobley did last night was his passing. He only had three assists, but all three were dimes, including a late no-look feed to Allen.
Cavs dud: Darius Garland and his turnovers
It’s always tough when your point guard turns the ball over a lot, and that has been exactly what Darius Garland has done the past couple of games. In the last two games alone he’s had 12 turnovers, six each night. It really hurt the Cavaliers in their loss on Friday night, but luckily didn’t bite them last night.
It’s no secret that Garland struggles at times without Donovan Mitchell. When he feels like he’s the only playmaker with the ball in his hands on the court, things tend to go wrong. Usually, the Cavaliers can handle his turnovers, but when he’s only putting up 13 points and 8 assists in spite of the turnovers, its a tough look.
Overall, when Donovan Mitchell is on the court the Cavaliers have looked great this year. When he’s nursing an injury, or resting you just never know what you’re going to get from Darius Garland and company.
Mitchell has missed the last two games, and Garland had 12 combined turnovers. The previous three, all in which Mitchell played, he had only six combined turnovers. I don’t know about you, but it seems pretty important that they get Mitchell back on the court, sooner rather than later.
Cleveland has a couple of tough games before they can enjoy the season’s festivities. They will head out west to take on the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. The Spurs are in second-to-last place in the Western Conference, ahead of only the Rockets. But, the Cavaliers have to handle business.
After taking on the Spurs, Cleveland will stay around that area to take on Luke Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. After that they will have a six game homestand through Dec. 26 that includes games versus Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and the Utah Jazz, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
It’s still very early in the season, with a lot of it left to go, but so far so good for the Cavaliers. Sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference, they’ve started off well.
However, if the Cavs learned anything from last year, it’s that it doesn’t get any easier from here on out.