The Cleveland Cavaliers were set to face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night on the road in the second leg of their latest back-to-back, and they looked to rebound after issues late in a loss versus the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at home.
Simply put, a get-right game was not what occurred for the Wine and Gold, in a 136-119 loss.
Atlanta obliterated the Cavaliers for much of the game, and they put up 81 points in the first half, which included a 49-point second quarter. At one point in that period, Atlanta was 15-of-15 from the field, and they would lead by 24 points at halftime.
The Cavs would seemingly play with more urgency in the second half, but they were down by as many as 32 points on Friday night, and Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and the Hawks were picking Cleveland apart far too often.
Young had 34 points and nine assists, whereas Murray had 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and his 15 second quarter points were a driving force behind Atlanta’s huge second. From there, recent Hawks trade acquisition Saddiq Bey had 19 points, and canned five triples.
The Cavaliers did have a far more respectable second half, and a few positives in the contest were Darius Garland (33 points) and Cedi Osman (10 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes). But given how much the Cavs were down by throughout the game, it didn’t mean much; overall, Atlanta shot 58.8 percent, and 53.6 percent from three.
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Despite them now having lost their last three games, it’s clear the Cavaliers are a club on the rise in the Eastern Conference. However, this upcoming offseason, it would be meaningful for them to add one or two pieces to sure up some things on the perimeter on both ends of the floor. Some legitimacy for the backup 5 position could be sensible, too.
With those caveats, here at KJG, Caleb Crowley suggested three potential targets for the Cavaliers to consider adding in free agency this summer. If the Cavs were to add any of those guys, it could sure up their rotation further.
Evan Mobley has really been in a great groove offensively for the Cavaliers since earlier on in January, and while his offense is not nearly what his defense is, his skill set on that end is definitely starting to become more refined. In Mobley’s last 17 games, he’s averaged 19.5 points on 58.8 percent true shooting, to go with 2.5 assists per contest.
He’s been getting to his spots, putting in work in mismatch situations in the post, on some drives, and mixing in shooting over the top as well, and it’s paid off big-time. He had 31 points in Cleveland’s 115-109 loss to the Nuggets on Thursday night as well, and had some positive stretches still at the Hawks.
In that Hawks game, he crossed the 2000-point plateau, and by the looks of it, is just getting started as one of the more impressive young bigs in the league.
.@evanmobley just reached 2,000 PTS for his @NBA career.
— Cavs Notes (@CavsNotes) February 25, 2023
Among players whose first 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds all came for Cleveland, only Brad Daugherty (in game #123, 2/3/1988) got there in 130 or fewer games (via @EliasSports). #LetEmKnow
Mobley still is far from a finished product, and needs to demonstrate more tangible growth as a three-point shooter in years ahead. Despite that, his offensive development is coming along well this season, and it’s all the more apparent that when he’s been aggressive, it’s been key for his own success on offense, and the team as a whole.
NBA news
After the NBA’s All-Star break, play resumed on Thursday night, and there was plenty of action on Friday night as well. With both conferences having such great perity, it’s going to be quite a dash to the finish in post-All-Star break play, too, and after a trade deadline with plenty of movement, there’s a ton of storylines to watch around the Association as we head deeper into the playoff push. With that in mind, in a piece on Friday, Jasmyn Wimbish of CBS Sports highlighted 10 things worth watching around the NBA down the stretch run.
Hopefully for the Cavs, they get back to their winning ways soon enough here, of which were largely the story closing out pre-All-Star play.
Next up: The Cavaliers will be playing the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 6 PM, where they’ll try to have better results than in their first three meetings against Toronto this season, all being Ls.