1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs from their loss to Spurs on Monday

Cavs dud: Second quarter play

As for the Cavaliers dud from Monday night, while it was not a good shooting night from Darius Garland, going just seven-of-22 overall and one-of-six from three, he did contribute in other ways, with nine assists and even seven rebounds. But, for what it’s worth, Garland does admittedly need to clean up some turnovers, as those have been more of a problem of late.

Lamar Stevens was scoreless in 25 minutes, and did have any shot attempts, which was strange, as an aside, and Cleveland going just five-of-23 from three-point land (21.7 percent) was a team candidate.

For the dud here, though, I have to go with Cleveland’s second quarter on Monday night. The Spurs took it to the Cavs there, outscoring the Wine and Gold 36-22, which took them into the break up by 16, and the Cavs were playing catch-up from there.

After first quarter offensive rebounds were a key reason for their success in the opening period, San Antonio in that second quarter was getting downhill after defensive stops, somewhat due to Cavaliers possessions being stagnant, leading to run-outs at times the other way. And in some other instances, the Cavs just appeared to be a step or two slow defensively, whether it was in individual defense or as rotators.

On the offensive end in that second quarter, Garland was forcing things a bit it seemed, and he went just two-of-nine from the field then, and the Cavs as a group were zero-of-six from three in that period. Some of those looks the Wine and Gold appeared to be settling here and there, too, which, when those looks aren’t from movement, can at times lead to the Cavaliers going cold for stretches, especially in these recent road games.

Anyways, while some bad stretches are bound to happen, the Cavs could’ve probably pulled this one out if they had a bit more urgency it seemed at various times in that second quarter. Maybe if that happened, things could’ve gone differently, and they still could’ve pulled this out from having to just stick around, as opposed to having to mount a comeback attempt in the late-third/fourth quarter.

Hopefully the Wine and Gold can sharpen up some things and be in better position in the second half on Wednesday at the Dallas Mavericks.