Through the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first 30 games, they hold a 19-11 record and are the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Of all the squads in its conference, the Cavs have the best home record by a half-game, at 13-2. The next group on their level in their building is the Milwaukee Bucks, who have just as many wins but have lost three times at Fiserv Forum.
Securing home court is only half the battle when it comes to earning the status of a great team. The Cavs are in the middle of a back-to-back set with another match at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Below are my five takeaways from the win on Friday versus the Pacers.
No. 1: Excellent ball protection
The hosts committed only eight turnovers, but none came in the fourth quarter as they dug away at the opponent’s double-digit lead. The league average for turnovers is 14.9 giveaways a night, per Basketball Reference.
Taking care of the ball at this level ensures the Cavaliers are not beating themselves, at least on the offensive end.
No. 2: Poor defensive pressure
It was like a trip to the shooting range for the Indiana Pacers. In the first half, they fired well from the top of the key and made one of two baskets from the left corner. What’s more problematic is that the road team was getting into the lane too easily and finishing inside as well.
The Cavs’ backline defenders often have too much extra ground to cover when its smaller guards are beat up top. If the backcourt plus Lamar Stevens and Cedi Osman can’t stop the ball at the first line of defense, Cleveland will routinely run into trouble against the smarter and more experienced teams when it comes to paint protection.
In the Cavaliers’ two-possession win at home (118-112), Indiana scored 62 points in the paint. Five Pacers scored at least eight points in the square, per NBA Stats.
No. 3: Shooting blanks from the corners
The Cavs shot two-of-nine from the corners. All of these attempts came against the 2-3 zone Indiana had been utilizing.
Indiana was able to close out quickly on a handful of these plays to get a hand up in front of the shooter. On one play, Jarrett Allen handed it off to Donovan Mitchell in the right corner, and as soon as he gave it up, he sacrificed his body for a pick against Jalen Smith. Andrew Nembhard sniffed out the play while standing deep in the lane and dashed over to Spida for a clean contest.
The most unpardonable corner attempt that missed was Mobley’s off-balance shot against Aaron Nesmith.
No. 4: Bench outscored by 21 points
The Pacers’ reserves scored 55 points, and the Cavaliers’ bench players dropped 34 points. For the rivals, 40% of their bench production came from rookie Bennedict Mathurin, who recorded 22 points on seven-of-16 attempts in 29 minutes. Five of his seven field goals came in the lane off transition opportunities and shredding the defense in the halfcourt.
In the second unit for the Cavs, Osman converted 14 points on four-of-seven tries, which was a notable lift after he had a DNP game at Dallas on Wednesday, and Caris LeVert had 12 points. LeVert hit 36% of his field goals.
No. 5: Donovan Mitchell’s fourth quarter mastery
As the picture looked dire and the group’s supporters grew anxious in the stands, Spida went nuclear. He matched Indiana’s scoring output of 18 points but on five-out-of-six shooting. On the left wing, he forced a switch against Isaiah Jackson, took a step back triple, and hit nylon for his sixth 3-point make of the night.
Allen caught the ball at the nail and quickly dished to a curling Mitchell at the top of the key. Aaron Nesmith closed out too aggressively on the catch, and #45 cut left, avoiding a reach by T.J. McConnell. At the rim, he met Jackson on his right side, but he shielded the ball by finishing with his left and using his opposite shoulder as protection.
His seventh triple came from Cleveland’s ball movement in transition. LeVert dribbled past the point of attack defense and lured two of Indiana’s helpers. He then flicked a pass to Mobley, standing in the dunker spot, and he dished it back to Mitchell on the right wing for the catch-and-release.
With the Cavaliers down five points and six minutes left, Donovan isolated Buddy Hield in the left corner and burned him with a crossover, opening up the baseline. Nesmith got up for a solid contest inside the restricted area, but it was not enough. Mitchell let it go on the way down after a double-clutch to create space in the air for a shot that made the crowd roar.
On his last 3-point make of the evening, Spida went one-on-one with Nesmith on the left wing. He created the space he needed by jabbing with his right foot.
His cover took the bait, and stepped back, but was too late on the contest.