Takeaways from Cavs’ miniseries sweep in Brooklyn

The Cleveland Cavaliers are gearing up for their first trip to the playoffs without the likes of LeBron James since the 1997-98 season.

While much of the Cleveland roster possesses little postseason experience, a scheduling quirk has allowed the Cavaliers to experience some of what a playoff series would feel like.

After playing two road games in Miami earlier this month and Charlotte, the Cavaliers faced two challenging battles in Brooklyn against a Nets team that could be heading toward the playoffs, too.

The Cavs were able to land a miniseries sweep of Brooklyn, just in different ways.

Though the Cavaliers were able to get a pair of victories, they came in two very different fashions. Tuesday night, Cleveland fell behind early but came back to lead by 24 points in the 3rd quarter.
However, Cleveland could not hold the double-digit lead and had to hold off a late Nets surge to win by six points.

Tuesday’s game marked the return of Jarrett Allen, who missed the previous four games after getting poked in the eye late in the loss to the Heat on March 10; he did suffer an eye contusion, but he reportedly stated in his return, the injury hasn’t been bothering him, at least in-game. In 35 minutes, Allen made an impact on Thursday with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks.

Donovan Mitchell also found his three-point stroke on Tuesday night, going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc after making just 1-of-19 in the previous three games.

Another key for the Cavaliers was the play of both Cedi Osman and Caris LeVert off the bench, as they combined to score 30 points, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. As for Thursday’s game, it was a much closer contest. Cleveland trailed at the half and into the fourth quarter, and fell behind by as many as 10 points.

But, the Cavaliers turned up the defensive pressure late in the 4th quarter and used a 10-3 run to go from trailing 109-100 to 112-110 with 45 seconds remaining. Then down four points, Mitchell connected on a jump shot, then after a steal by LeVert, Donovan went to the line.

Mitchell split the pair and could not make the putback, but Allen knocked the ball out to LeVert, who then found Isaac Okoro in the corner for a three-pointer which he calmly knocked down.
While it’s important not to overreact, but Okoro making a clutch shot on the road is a big deal.

Okoro makes his money mainly on the defensive end of the floor and, most times is the fifth option to score on the floor.

But if Okoro is going to be on the floor, he will be open, and he must show the coaching staff and his teammates that he can knock down key shots.

J.B. Bickerstaff pointed out in his postgame press conference that not only was it a big shot from Okoro, but having LeVert throw him the ball in that situation shows the trust he had in Isaac to knock down the shot.

Speaking of LeVert, he has shown quite a resurgence of late. In 11 games in March, the Cavaliers sixth man is scoring 14.5 points per game and is connecting on 50 percent of his shots, including 47 percent from beyond the arc.

With the playoffs fast approaching and defenses keying in on Mitchell and Garland, it was vital for Cleveland to have another player shoulder some of the scoring load.

LeVert can be a solid ball handler and is quick to get to the basket, but he is at his best when he can connect from three-point range.

Not to be lost in all this was Evan Mobley’s performance on Thursday. The Cavaliers second-year big man scored 26 points, grabbed 16 big rebounds, and swatted four shots.

As for the big picture, Cleveland being able to go on the road and take down a fellow potential playoff team should give them confidence heading into the playoffs a few weeks from now, where they surely will face a hostile road environment no matter who they face going forward.