1 stud, 2 duds for Cavs from Thursday’s loss to Pacers

I don’t want to look too far into the future, but I sure do hope the Cleveland Cavaliers can lock up a top four spot in the playoffs by the time they roll around in a handful of months. Otherwise, I don’t think the Cavs will be able to make it out of the first round. After falling to the Indiana Pacers last night 135-126, in Indianapolis, the Cavaliers’ record dropped to 22-14, and an abysmal 6-10 away from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where they’ve continually had issues.

Pacer guard Tyrese Haliburton led all scorers with 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including a scorching 6-of-8 from deep. Former Oklahoma Sooner Buddy Hield had himself a night as well, putting up 25 points, and hitting 5-of-6 from deep. Defending the three-pointer was really the downfall for the Cavs last night, who only have a half-game lead on the Philadelphia 76ers for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Donovan Mitchell once again led the Cavs in scoring with 28. He wasn’t nearly as efficient as Hield or Haliburton, shooting 10-of-25 from the field, while also picking up six assists and two steals. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen both had 18 and 19 points respectively, and Caris LeVert had 19 points off the bench. Additionally, Kevin Love was a bright spot for the Wine and Gold, as he had 12 points and six rebounds in his 21 minutes off the bench, and connected on two shots from deep.

So with that said, let’s examine one stud, but then two duds for Cleveland from the game.

Cavs stud: Isaac Okoro

For a guy who only played 21 minutes last night, Isaac Okoro sure was effective when he was on the court. While the wing out of Auburn only had 10 points, he was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and didn’t turn the ball over once. On defense he was also a pest, as he has proven to be, pressuring opposing ball-handlers and getting a hand in the face of shooters.

Okoro had the highest +/- on the Cavalier’s last night by far, finishing with a +7, while the only other Cavalier to finish in the positive was Allen, who was +1. It’s clear to me that Okoro has gotten better throughout the year, and might deserve more minutes. However, he still has a lot to improve on his offensive game.

With that being said, Okoro has looked great moving without the ball this season. There was a crazy sequence at the end of the third quarter where Donovan Mitchell was trying to get an open look, but was defended very well. With the shot clock winding down and nowhere to go, Mitchell saw a streaking Okoro flying down the lane to hammer down the dunk. It was probably the best sequence of the game for Cleveland.

Cavs duds: Three-point defense and defensive effort on the road

It’s become pretty clear that the Cavaliers are a team that is playing at it’s best when they are in Cleveland. Outside of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this year, the Cavaliers are 6-10. In all 10 of those losses the Cavaliers gave up more than 100 points and were outplayed in the second halves. For whatever reason, the Cavaliers just don’t seem to have the same intensity on the road versus at home.

I would also say that the nature of the road losses is becoming a bit of a problem as well. In the Cavs’ first three road losses of the year, they lost by a combined 12 points. However, in their last four road losses, they’ve lost by a combined 32 points. By the time the playoffs come around, we better hope J.B. Bickerstaff and company can find their groove on the road. Or else it could be another long offseason full of questions.

Despite all of that, you really don’t have much of a chance to win when your opponent shoots 61% from the three-point line. Not only did the Pacers hit pretty much everything they shot, but two of their biggest offensive playmakers in Hield and Haliburton combined for 11 threes! Sometimes there’s not much you can do when a team is hot like Indiana was last night. But, the Cavs still need to find a better way to defend shooters on the perimeter.

With the NFL and College Football seasons coming to a close, it’s finally time to focus in on basketball. Unfortunately, this isn’t a great time to be a Cavalier fan, as the Wine and Gold have dropped three straight after winning five in a row.

The Cavaliers currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, dangerously close to losing their firm grasp on homecourt advantage. On Saturday, the Cavalier will travel to Chicago to take on Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls.

With only one game left in the 2022 part of the current season for the Cavaliers, let’s hope they can wrap up what was a wildly surprising 2022 on a good note. However, on top of that, the Cavaliers just need to get back in the win column, so no matter how they can do that, is fine with me.